Full Notification

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a significant snow storm that is forecasted to last from this evening until Saturday morning.  Please carefully monitor road conditions before driving, and bear in mind that parking is not allowed on Town streets (unless permitted by posted signs). Road conditions can widely vary in our Town with rain in Westmere and heavy snow a few miles away in hills in the western parts.  If there is adequate snow, the Town’s winter facilities will be open including sledding at the Winter Recreation Area, cross-country skiing at Western Turnpike Golf Course, and snowshoeing at the Vosburgh Open Space and Town parks.
 
COVID-19 Weekly Update
 
Albany County DOH’s COVID-19 Dashboard reported two COVID-19 related deaths over the past week and that the County’s pandemic death total increased to 602 deaths.  The number of hospitalized persons decreased by one patient to now 24 patients, with four patients in the ICU. 
 
For the second consecutive week, CDC’s weekly community spread data shows that Albany County has a “low” rate of COVID-19 spread.  At this low level, the CDC recommends facemasks if you have tested positive, have COVID-19 symptoms, or were exposed to someone with COVID-19.  It also recommends facemasks on public transportation.  While most of the State has either low or medium community spreads, there are more areas with high rates including all of New York City and Long Island, along with Broome, Rockland, Tioga, and Westchester Counties.
 
The CDC reports that the percentage of the nation’s counties with a high community level increased from 5.66% to 9.29% and that the percentage at the medium level increased from 24.85% to 35.24%.  The percentage of counties at the low community level decreased from 69.45% to 55.47%.
 
State DOH’s data for measuring COVID-19’s community spread shows that Albany County’s seven-day average of positive cases per 100,000 residents increased over the past week from 12.7 to 13.4 cases.  The State’s seven-day average per 100,000 slightly increased from 27.8 to 27.9 positive cases.  The hospitalization rate has increased in the State over the past month from 14.33 to 18.28 patients per 100,000.  State DOH reported that there were 263 COVID-19 related deaths in the State last week, and that 76,249 residents have died since the start of the pandemic.
 
After FDA’s approval, CDC quickly extended emergency authorization for the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 6 months through 5 years.  Children ages 6 months through 5 years who previously completed a Moderna primary series are eligible to receive a Moderna bivalent booster 2 months after their final primary series dose. Children ages 6 months through 4 years who are currently completing a Pfizer primary series will receive a Pfizer bivalent vaccine as their third primary dose.
 
As part of a new effort to respond to the anticipated increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations with winter’s arrival, the Biden administration yesterday restarted the program that will provide four free COVID-19 at-home tests by mail to American households. The free tests, which can be ordered online, will start shipping next week.  The announcement noted that COVID cases have surged by 55% percent and deaths by 65% over the past two weeks. Americans with health insurance plans or covered by Medicare can also obtain eight free at-home COVIID-19 tests each month.  The Biden Administration’s COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan is available here.
 
State DOH’s flu tracker shows an exponential growth in flu cases, with 44,426 cases of flu reported last week compared to about 2,800 in the same week last year.  The number of flu cases are up 64% in one week, and there have been 113,345 cases in the State this flu season.  Albany County had 1,256 flu cases compared with 782 cases reported last year.  The State DOH flu tracker is updated weekly on Fridays by 5pm.  You can find a flu shot provider here. 

Please click here to read the full version of the weekly newsletter.

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