The number of COVID-19 cases in Albany County jumped to 15 on Monday, March 16 with 90 people under mandatory quarantine and another 367 under precautionary quarantine. There are 950 confirmed cases in the state, 2,134 in the country and at least 145,317 in the world.
Also Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with governors in New Jersey and Connecticut, closed all bars, restaurants, casinos, movie theaters and gyms to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurants can still offer takeout.
Also, on Monday, Cuomo is mandating all municipal governments cut their workforces by 50 percent.
“Our goal is to slow the spread of the virus to a rate that the healthcare system can manage, and we’re doing that through aggressive testing and strong social distancing protocols,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said as more testing is done there will be more positive results. He warned those under precautionary quarantine to stay in their homes or run the risk of being place on mandatory quarantine, which is legally binding.
He is also asking for people to volunteer for the Albany County Medical Reserve Corps to help respond to COVID-19. To do so, call the county Health Department at 518-447-4610.
Additional closings and cancelations announced Monday include:
- Colonie closed all municipal buildings to the public
- The state Capital is closed to the public.
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany has cancelled all masses except weddings and funerals.
For information that is updated at least once a day visit:
- Center for Disease Control’s website at CDC.gov
- New York State Department of Health’s website: health.ny.gov
- Albany County Department of Health’s website: albanycounty.com
How to avoid COVID-19
The Center for Disease Control has some common sense behaviors to avoid contracting COVID-19:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing and before eating or preparing food.
- Avoid touching your eyes nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Stay at home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or sneeze of cough into the bend of your elbow.
- Practice social distancing.