Full Notification

Albany County COVID-19 dashboard shows that the County had 33 new positive cases since yesterday, which raised the County’s COVID-19 cumulative pandemic total to 62,678  positive cases.  The County’s seven-day average of new daily positive cases increased by 1/5^th of a case to 32.9 cases.  The number of County residents in the hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms decreased by one to now 11 patients.  The County reported no deaths overnight, and the County’s pandemic death toll remained at 536.
 
State DOH reported that the County’s rate for one vaccine dose as of yesterday was 81.3% of the County’s total population and 89.7% of the adult population, and the County’s rate for full-vaccination was 74.1% 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.  There were again no changes overnight for any of these percentages. 
 
The State’s COVID-19 website reported that yesterday’s results for 119,475 tests Statewide were 2,013 or 1.7% positive, with the seven-day average remaining at 1.9%.  The Capital Region had 2,771 tests of which 85 or 3.1% were positive, with the seven-day average increasing to 2.6%.  The County had 859 tests of which 24 or 2.8% were positive, with the seven-day average remaining at 2.5%.

Governor Hochul announced today that the State’s positive rate for tests was 1.68%.    Other COVID-19 data included hospitalizations (900, -25), new admissions (113), ICU patients (159, +12), intubations (77, +1), and deaths (12).  The State ended the week with a pandemic total of 69,958 deaths, as reported to the CDC. 

As you may know, since the start of the pandemic, both the Guilderland Public Library and Altamont Free Library have been waiving fees for overdue checked-out materials which has helped patrons to continue using collections in both libraries without worrying about late charges.  The policy has helped remove hesitation in accessing wide-ranging and ever-expanding collections and resources.  Both libraries have now made their fine-free policies permanent, have also waived all outstanding overdue fines, and have instituted automatic renewals for checked-out materials.  Once the renewals are maxed out, there will be a charge for replacing any unreturned items.   Both libraries have been essential partners in our community’s collective response to the pandemic by adopting innovative methods for providing access to their resources and services.    

I hope that you were able to enjoy a mostly rain free weekend, and not-too-bad daytime temperatures for mid-March.  Spring arrived this morning at 11:33am. 

Thank you for staying safe and calm.
 
Peter G. Barber
Town Supervisor