ALBANY — Three county residents died from COVID-19 over the past two days and the Capital District’s percent positive rate is at 5.8 percent with some areas of the state nearing 9 percent.
As the number of positive cases statewide steadily increases, Gov. Kathy Hochul warned of tighter protocols.
“At some point, if the numbers don’t start on a downward trend, we’ll have to talk about larger protocols, which we know are available to us,” she said on Tuesday. “There is a direct correlation between people being vaccinated and the infection rate. We have created a dynamic where you can get vaccinated anywhere. It’s that last 10 percent that’s holding us back.”
The highest infection rates in the state are in the Finger Lakes and Western New York, 8.7 and 8.5 percent, respectively, according to the state COVID-19 tracker. Western New York is reporting 47 new cases per 100,000 people a day while the Finger Lakes is reporting 51 new cases per 100,000 a day. The Capital Region has about 35 new cases per 100,000 people a day.
With the holidays right around the corner, and colder weather forcing people inside, Hochul fell short of issuing any mandates against the size of gatherings but is urging people to get vaccinated and take precautions.
“I’m not mandating people avoid indoor gatherings I am saying the smartest gatherings include people wearing masks and hopefully vaccinated,” she said.
Statewide, 89.1 percent of those 18 and older received at least one dose of the vaccine and nearly 80 percent are fully vaccinated. In the eight-county Capital District, about 80 percent of those 18 and older received at least the first dose. The highest percent of is in Schenectady County with 91.5 percent of those 18 and older having gotten the first dose and the lowest is Greene County, with 69.5. Albany County is at 84.5 percent.
There were three new deaths in Albany County this week. From Monday to Tuesday the deaths of a woman in her 90s and a woman more than 100 years old were attributed to COVID-19 by county officials, and from Tuesday to Wednesday a woman in her 50s died of COVID-19 bringing the county’s total death toll to 436 since the pandemic took hold in March, 2020.
The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County is now at 32,796 as of Wednesday, with 104 new positive cases identified since Tuesday. The county’s five-day average of new daily positive cases is now up to 90.8.
As of Wednesday, there are 31 county residents in the hospital, a net decrease of seven, with six of those are in the ICU.
“This is the second consecutive day I’ve had to announce losing Albany County residents, and my thoughts and prayers are with all of the families,” said County Executive Dan McCoy. “Our data here to date reflects what’s being seen across the country – those who haven’t gotten a shot yet are the most likely to be experiencing the most serious illnesses from the virus and those who are dying.”
McCoy and Hochul are urging people to get vaccinated and those who are vaccinated should get a booster.
“As we continue to deal with the highly contagious Delta variant and given the waning efficacy of the vaccine over time, we need more people to get vaccinated and to get a booster shot,” he said. “As Gov. Hochul said yesterday, any adult who feels they’re at risk of getting infected with COVID and has already been vaccinated for six months — especially as we approach the holiday season and winter months — should go get a booster to ensure they’re protected from this horrible virus.”