ALBANY — From May 24 to June 6 the nearly 10,000 people were tested for COVID-19 and the percent of positive cases was 6.3 percent, a drop from 8.3 percent a month ago.
As of Tuesday, there were 1,805 total positive cases in Albany County, an increase of six, with 542 under mandatory quarantine and 1,526 who tested positive and recovered. More than 32,000 people in Albany County have been tested for the virus. There are 14 people in the hospital for a rate of .77 percent.
Dr. Elizabeth Whalen, head of the county Health Department, addressed with a warning a recent announcement by the World Health Organization that stated people who are infected but are asymptomatic are not likely to transmit the disease. That new tidbit is contrary to what she and other health professionals around the world have been saying about the precautions people should take — especially young people who are otherwise healthy.
She said there are two types of “asymptomatic,” those who get a mild case of the virus and those who got the virus and while not showing severe symptoms, those symptoms will develop over the course of a few days. The latter group will still readily transmit the disease before the symptoms present themselves, she said.
“For the general public, you still have to protect your family and the community because you can’t tell if you are asymptomatic or presymptomatic,” she said. “As we open up, as we start to have the ability to freely circulate and enter into public places and dine at restaurants and do other things, it is more important than ever to use the community mitigation efforts.”
Phase II is set to begin in the eight-county Capital District on June 17, but County Executive Dan McCoy, during his daily briefing, said if the numbers continue to improve somethings could come sooner.
Of the 115 fatalities in Albany County, all but two were older than 60 and all but two had underlying health issues.
