ALBANY — For the first time in 104 days, there has not been a new case of COVID-19 in the county.
“We had all the protests going on and people going back out in public and it worried us,” said County Executive Dan McCoy, who recently cut back his daily press briefings to twice a week. “We were worried about us moving forward and stopping us from moving to different phases but our numbers are looking good. This is the first day since our first case that we have not had a new case.”
As of Tuesday, there were 1,864 total positive cases in Albany County with 147 under mandatory quarantine and 1,839 who have recovered. There are just 25 active cases. There are eight people in the hospital for a rate of .42 percent.
The death toll, 120, has not changed since June 15. All but two people who died were older than 60 and all but two had underlying health conditions.
Twenty-year-olds are still an issue, McCoy said. They are the demographic with the most positive cases, 326, with 50-year-olds having the second most positive, 311.
The eight-county Capital District is slated to enter Phase IV, the final phase of the state’s re-opening plan, on Wednesday July 1. It includes higher education, entertainment, recreation and the arts.
Dr. Elizabeth Whalen, head of the Albany County Health Department, compared New York to other states that are seeing a spike in cases.
“We were concerned about the protests, with lot of people in tight spaces and what are we doing different? I believe it is masks. If you look at the photos of the protests, the vast majority were wearing masks,” she said. “This does make a difference.”
