Full Notification

On Monday, Governor Kathy Hochul, with no fanfare, allowed her pandemic emergency powers to expire by not extending the State of Emergency beyond its latest extension.  With that inaction, the State’s nearly 30-month emergency powers have quietly ended.  The Governor reminded residents that COVID-19 remains a threat, particularly for unvaccinated persons, and urged residents to receive the updated COVID-19 booster.  You can find more details and links below.  
 
COVID-19 Weekly Update
 
Albany County DOH’s COVID-19 Dashboard reported no COVID-19 related deaths over the past week and that the County’s pandemic death total remained at 581.  The number of hospitalized persons increased 16 to 26 patients.  The County’s seven-day average of positive cases over the past week decreased from 9.6% to 9.2%.    
 
For another week, CDC’s data finds that Albany County has a medium level of community COVID-19 spread.  It has been 11 months since the County had a low level.    The community spread continues to eased in the State, with no county had a high level, and 27 of the State’s 62 counties, mostly in counties near Binghamton, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, at a medium level.  The CDC updates its mapping of community spread each week on Thursday evenings.
 
The CDC reports that the percentage of the nation’s counties with a high community level significantly decreased from 25.75% to 17.23% and that the percentage for the medium level decreased from 42.04% to 39.7%. The percentage of counties at the low community level increased 32.21% to 43.08%.
 
State DOH’s method for assessing COVID-19 spread in a community uses a seven-day average of positive cases per 100,000 residents.  Albany County’s number has slightly increased over the past week from 15.9 to 16.6 cases.  The State’s seven-day average has also increased from 17.9 to 18.6 positive cases.  The hospitalization rate has declined from 11.39 to 11.2 patients per 100,000.  State DOH reported that there were 119 COVID-19 related deaths last week in the State and that 73, 897 residents have died since the start of the pandemic.
 
As you may know, updated boosters are now available at local pharmacies.  While there have been some shortages of the Pfizer and Moderna at some locations, my wife and I, and numerous friends and Town staff, received the updated boosters at appointments this past week.  You can find information about available updated boosters by entering your zip code at vaccines.gov, texting your zip code to 438829, or calling 1-800-232-0233. 
 
Governor Hochul allowed her pandemic emergency powers to lapse on Monday by not extending the State of Emergency beyond its latest extension.   While that inaction will end the emergency order for the COVID-19 pandemic, at least for now, the Governor issued two new States of Emergency for monkeypox and poliovirus, which are intended to encourage vaccinations.  

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Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. 
 
Peter G. Barber
Town Supervisor