ALBANY — A man in his 70s died from Thursday to Friday, bringing the county’s death toll to 113.
All but two of the fatalities were older than 60 years old and all but one had underlying health issues. As of June 4, there were 53 deaths of nursing home residents, according to the state Department of Health. There have been two deaths in Albany County in the last two weeks. Statewide, there were 42 deaths from Thursday to Friday, the lowest number of fatalities since March.
On Friday, exactly 13 weeks after County Executive Dan McCoy held his first daily briefing, there are 1,778 positive cases of coronavirus in Albany County with 672 currently under mandatory quarantine and 1,416 who have recovered.
There are 15 Albany County residents in the hospital for a rate of .84, the lowest it has been since the pandemic spread began its upward trend at the end March.
While Black Lives Matter protests — and in some cases rioting and looting — dominate the news, McCoy is urging all those involved to get tested for coronavirus.
“I support the protests and support what people are standing for but the coronavirus is still with us. It is still out there,” he said.
The county is offering a walkup testing site on Wednesday, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Capital South Campus on 20 Warren St. in Albany. For those not insured, the county will pick up the tab.
The eight-county Capital District entered Phase II on Wednesday and, in a surprise move, Gov. Andrew Cuomo allowed restaurants to serve sit down meals on outside tables provided they can provide accommodations for social distancing.
Phase II includes professional services, barbershops and salons and retail with in-store shopping. Prior to Wednesday, restaurants were not planning to serve customers with anything but curbside pickup or takeout until Phase III.
“What a lot of the political people do not understand and what the general population doesn’t understand is things are changing for us constantly,” said Tess Collins, the proprietor of McGeary’s Pub in Albany, while asking the public for patience. “We want to do the right thing and stay safe but things keep changing.”