Albany County coronavirus update, April 20
ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Albany County Executive Dan McCoy reported Tuesday on the county’s efforts to administer the COVID vaccine and control the spread of the coronavirus.
As of Monday, 49.2% of Albany County’s population has received at least the first dose, and 35.1% has been fully vaccinated. That compares to the statewide first dose vaccination rate of 41.7%, and full vaccination rate of 28.4%.
The County Executive announced that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Albany County has now climbed to 23,466 to date, an increase of 63 new positive cases since Monday. The five-day average for new daily positives remains at 64.8. Albany County’s most recent seven-day average of percent positive rates is down to 2.8%, and the Capital Region’s is now at 2.2%.
Among the new cases of coronavirus, 20 reportedly had close contact with positive cases, 42 did not have clear sources of infection at this time, and one is a healthcare worker or resident of a congregate living setting.
Health officials say there are now 513 active cases in the county, down from 531 Monday. The number of people under mandatory quarantine decreased to 1,026 from 1,029. So far, 75,341 people have completed quarantine. Of those who completed quarantine, 22,953 of them had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 77 recoveries since Monday.
County Executive McCoy announced that there were seven new hospitalizations overnight and there are still 30 county residents hospitalized from the virus. There are currently eight patients in ICU’s, down from nine Monday. Sadly, there was one new COVID-related death reported – a man in his 60’s. The death toll for Albany County now stands at 373 since the outbreak began.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the latest family dealing with a devastating loss. This is now the fourth COVID death I have to report in the last three days. On top of that, we now have two county residents under the age of 25 currently hospitalized from the virus. The only way we will be able to prevent future tragedies, to protect the ones we love and return to any sense of normalcy, is to get vaccinated,” said County Executive McCoy.
“We still have over 1,900 available appointments at our Times Union Center vaccination clinic this Thursday. More than 151,000 Albany County residents have already made the choice to get their first dose. Please do your part in helping us move forward by registering for your shot today,” he continued.