GUILDERLAND — The governor chose Crossgates Mall’s vaccination site as emblematic of the work being done across the state as she praised that work during a Saturday visit.

“It was important for me to come out and see first-hand the incredible work that’s being done all over the state of New York, particularly in Albany County,” said Kathy Hochul.

The site on the upper floor of the now-closed Lord & Taylor opened in April, moving from the uptown University at Albany campus.

At a press conference last week, Hochul had noted the combined sites — with 64 workers and 10 incident commanders — had administered 300,000 shots.

Local leaders, including Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy — “someone you want to be in a foxhole with during a crisis,” said Hochul — and Guilderland Supervisor Peter Barber, were on hand for the governor’s tour.

Hochul thanked Barber for all he has done “to make sure the word gets out, and also make sure our businesses know that we have their back.” Barber has sent out daily emails to Guilderland residents since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, reporting on the releases from McCoy’s office and the governor’s office as well as adding his own observations.

On Saturday, Barber sent out his 651st update, stating that Hochul had “shared her appreciation for the Town’s EMS Department which was recently recognized as the State EMS Agency of the Year. The award recognizes the EMS Department’s leading role in combating the pandemic, including the innovative use of ozone generators for the rapid disinfecting of ambulances for a quick return to service and the hosting of several local vaccination clinics for residents. 

“With the widespread availability of State and County vaccination sites, and at over 40,000 pharmacies, the Town EMS is now focusing on delivering initial vaccine series and boosters to homebound residents throughout the County,” Barber wrote.

Hochul’s focus on Saturday was not just to thank the National Guard and others at the clinic but to, once again, urge New Yorkers to get vaccinated and to get booster shots.

She made similar stops on Monday in Wyoming County’s Warsaw and Broome County’s Johnson City.

Hochul on Saturday noted “a big increase in numbers, 21,000 just yesterday” and urged, “Even in these final weeks of December, there’s still time to do what’s right to protect yourselves and always think about the most vulnerable person who’s at your dinner table. Are they going to be safe if you don’t get vaccinated?”

She went on, “We want people to reconnect with their families, so critically important emotionally, particularly for our older residents, people who’ve been suffering from isolation during most of this, we need those connections and there is a very, very, very safe way to do it … which is simply getting people boosted and continuing to wear the mask.”

Hochul noted that, of the 32 hospitals that had to stop elective procedures because they did not have at least 10 percent staffed hospital beds available, four have now met the mark.

She noted, too, that the state has opened 40 new vaccination sites as well as 4,500 pharmacies and doctors’ offices administering vaccinations.

Hochul also said that one million test kits had been distributed to local health departments. “We have another million coming in a few days, another million coming after that,” she said.

The state will be launching a portal, Hochul said, so that New Yorkers can order tests.

Finally, Houchul said that getting vaccinated not only makes gathering with family safe “but at the same time you’re also protecting your local businesses and your local community.”

She called wearing a mask a simple request while shutting down businesses is “an intrusion.”

“This is not 2020 ….,” said Hochul. “I want this economy to thrive.”

Newest numbers

McCoy reported four COVID-related deaths over the weekend. On Friday, a woman in her fifties died as did a man in his sixties. On Saturday, two women in their sixties died of the virus.

This brings Albany county’s COVID-19 death toll to 461.

In his Sunday morning COVID-19 release, McCoy reported 227 news cases of COVID-19. The county’s seven-day average of new daily positive cases is now at 193.1.

Albany County’s most recent seven-day average of cases per 100,000 is 50.7 and the Capital Region’s average of cases per 100,000 is now 59.3.

There are now 733 active cases in Albany County, down from 681 on Saturday. The number of county residents under quarantine increased to 1,428 from 1,358.

There were seven new hospitalizations since Saturday, and there are 62 county residents currently hospitalized with the coronavirus. Eight of those hospital patients are now in intensive-care units.

“COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 15 Albany County residents so far this month and my condolences go out to the families of the latest victims of the virus,” said McCoy in the release. “I hope and pray every day that people who have not been vaccinated get a shot to help prevent the spread of the virus, protect themselves and others and help stop our death toll from going up.”

As of Saturday, 78.2 percent of all Albany County residents have received at least the first dose of the vaccine, and 71.2 percent have been fully vaccinated. The first-dose vaccination rate for county residents who are 18 or older is at 87.4 percent.

Statewide, the governor’s office on Sunday reported 192 confirmed cases so far of the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19.

This includes: 117 in Tompkins County; 41 in New York City; 16 in Suffolk County; eight in Nassau County; four in Oneida County; three in Westchester County; and one each in Broome, Dutchess, and Onondaga counties.