Full Notification

Albany County DOH’s COVID-19 dashboard shows that that were 17 new positive cases since yesterday, and that the County’s COVID-19 cumulative pandemic total has reached 62,461 positive cases.  The County’s seven-day average of new daily positive cases decreased from 32.8 to 28.6 cases.  County DOH noted that 10 County residents remained in the hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms.  The County reported no deaths overnight and that the County’s pandemic death toll remained at 536.  Of the reported deaths of County residents, 277 or 51.7% were female, and 513 or 85.7% were 50 years or older.
 
State DOH reported that the County’s rate for one vaccine dose as of yesterday was 81.2% of the County’s total population and 89.7% of the adult population, and the County’s rate for full-vaccination was 74.0% of the total population, and for boosters was 64.1% of the eligible population.  The State’s rate for one dose was 89.3% for the total population and 95.0% of adults, and the State’s rate for full-vaccination was 75.9% for the total population, and for boosters was 56.1% of the eligible population.. 
 
The State’s COVID-19 website reported that yesterday’s results for 62,039 tests Statewide were 902 or 1.5% positive, with the seven-day average remaining at 1.4%.  The Capital Region had 2,463 tests of which 32 or 1.3% were positive, with the seven-day average decreasing to 2.2%.  The County had 586 tests of which 8 or 1.4% were positive, with the seven-day average decreasing to 2.2%.
Governor Hochul announced today that the State’s positive rate for tests was 1.52%, and that the State’s daily infection rate has been below 2% for 18 consecutive days.   Other COVID-19 data included hospitalizations (1,083, +31), new admissions (87), ICU patients (168, -6), intubations (94, -5), and deaths (10).

Just when you thought that the entire 2022 baseball (162 game season) would be played with no problems, an odd wrinkle has occurred.  Because Canada still requires that visitors provide proof of vaccination, it could cause problems for US-based teams arriving to play the Toronto Blue Jays, the only team based in Canada.  A special exemption, which allowed unvaccinated athletes to enter Canada, expired on January 15.  It has not been a problem for professional hockey, with seven Canadian teams, because the vaccination rate for hockey players is nearly 100%, with only four unvaccinated players.  The vaccination rate for Major League baseball players is somewhere around 85%.  

The Governor’s Executive Order which extended the pandemic State of Emergency is scheduled to end tomorrow, and appears unlikely to be extended.  The State of Emergency also suspended the Open Meetings Law by giving governmental entities the option of holding virtual meetings for their public bodies.  On the advice of the Town’s COVID-19 response team, the Town has exercised this option, in various forms, for the past two years.  

In light of the continuing “low” community level of infection as determined by the CDC, the Town’s boards and committees will resume in-person meetings at Town Hall, starting with the Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, March 16, with no COVID-19 related capacity restrictions and the wearing of facemasks strongly encouraged.  The resumed in-person meetings will be broadcast with newly installed cameras, improved sound capabilities, and enhanced production equipment.   The new broadcast system has already been used in recent weeks for Zoom meetings with noticeably improved visual and audio. 

Thank you for staying safe and calm.

Peter G. Barber
Town Supervisor