ALBANY — The number of county residents hospitalized for COVID-19 has more than doubled, from 51 to 109, since Christmas. Of those, 12 are in the ICU.
In the eight-county Capital District region, there are 328 hospitalized with 49 in the ICU. That is an increase of 74 hospitalizations and eight ICU patients since Dec. 24, 2021.
Statewide, as of Tuesday, Jan. 4, there are 10,411 hospitalized for the virus with 1,302 in the ICU. An increase of 5,520 and 422, respectively, since Dec. 24, 2021.
Earlier this week, given how steep the spike of hospitalizations and new cases that are either asymptomatic or that present minor symptoms, Gov. Kathy Hochul directed hospitals statewide to determine if the patients were admitted to seek treatment for COVID or are being treated for another ailment and happen to test positive.
Regardless, even with the period of required quarantine cut from 10 to five days, health care and other businesses are strained by a lack of employees.
“The number of county residents in the hospital has now more than doubled from the 51 individuals we reported the day after Christmas, further straining our hospital system that has already been impacted by healthcare workers getting infected after the latest surge of COVID cases,” McCoy said.
The total number of cases in Albany County increased by 733 to 43,796 from Tuesday to Wednesday, McCoy said, and the seven-day average is 582.7.
There was also one death, a woman in her 80s, bringing the toll to 473 since the pandemic took hold in March, 2020.
“As hospitalizations continue to rise, we will likely see even more deaths, unfortunately,” said McCoy, while urging residents to get vaccinated.
As of Tuesday, 79.1 percent of all Albany County residents have received at least the first dose of the vaccine while 71.8 percent are fully vaccinated. Eighty-eight percent of those 18 and older have received at least the first dose.
Statewide, 84 percent have received at least the first dose, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and 71.8 percent are fully vaccinated. Of those 18 and older, 95 percent have received at least the first dose and 82.9 percent are fully vaccinated.
