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Albany County Director Dan McCoy delivered two grim news on Tuesday, reporting another county record for COVID-19 hospitalizations in 76 admitted patients and 159 new positive cases – the highest total in one day since the start of the pandemic.
“This is now the fifth time in just over a week that we have set a record for the number of residents in hospitals,” McCoy said, adding that the last time the county broke the record for new cases positive, it was November 14th.
Of these new cases, 22 had a clear source of infection, 11 were healthcare workers, and 127 could not be attributed to potential exposure, continuing a pattern of people potentially unresponsive to their recent discharges. Local officials have continuously said the lack of an accepted source of infection is cause for concern and limits their ability to stop the spread.
McCoy said Monday that young people are fueling many new cases.
Of the 76 hospitalized, 12 patients are in intensive care unit, against 11 on Monday.
Two women in their 90s also died overnight from COVID-19, bringing the county’s total death toll to 160. In one week, 10 people have died from the virus, McCoy said, and 18 are died in November.
During the month of October, 20 people died in the capital region from COVID-19, according to data provided by the county. That number more than doubled in November with 49 deaths recorded.
The record numbers come as parts of the county face a likely microcluster designation from the state. Originally, the county closely monitored its percentage of residents who tested positive for the coronavirus over an average of seven days. And in the county’s case, the positivity rate had to exceed 3% for more than 10 days to be designated as a yellow zone, which would result in mass testing on students and school staff on site, and restrictions. capacity in places of worship, bars, restaurants and public gatherings. Albany County was nine consecutive days off a 3% positive rate on Sunday, which is the most recent day shown by state data.
But how does the state determine the microcluster designation changed recently when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced he would add hospitalization and death rates, hospital beds and intensive care available and available health personnel at the parameters that the state uses to designate the area. the decisions.
Until the levels of the new measures are established, it is still unclear when parts of the county could face further restrictions.
McCoy said in Tuesday’s briefing that even with the state’s new measures, the county is likely still heading for a yellow zone designation in some areas and orange in others.
McCoy also commented on the Albany Med nurses’ strike on Tuesday in which nurses said the hospital was not doing enough to protect them and patients from the coronavirus.
“I was hoping they would fix this problem. It is a difficult time. I understand nurses. I support what they do, ”McCoy said. “They want proper PPE … and they want to be protected, and I support that 100%.”
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