ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy announced Sunday that as of this morning, there are now 651 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Albany County. Additionally, there are now 797 people under mandatory quarantine and 38 people under precautionary quarantine. A total of 1,555 people have completed quarantine, and 323 of them who had tested positive for the virus have recovered. Overnight, there were sadly two additional deaths – two men, one in his 60’s with multiple underlying health issues and another in his 70’s. The death toll due to the Novel Coronavirus for the county now stands at 22.
With 32 people now hospitalized, the hospitalization rate for Albany County stands at 4.91%, down again from yesterday’s rate of 5.63%. Seven of those individuals are currently in Intensive Care Units (ICU). Shaker Place Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has had 18 residents in total who have tested positive, along with 7 employees in addition to one who has recovered and returned to work.
Dr. Stephen Giordano, Director of the Albany County Department of Mental Health, discussed county, regional and state resources that are available for those who are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse issues during the pandemic.
“To the two families who have lost loved ones overnight, my thoughts and prayers are with you during this impossible time. I encourage them and anyone else who are dealing with stress, anxiety or depression to utilize our Mental Health Support Line we established in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, because you are not alone in this,” said County Executive McCoy.
“We’ve also seen spikes in overdose deaths in counties across New York State, and this is something that we are closely monitoring here in Albany County. That’s why I wanted to make sure that everyone knows that despite the pandemic, our programs and services are still available for those who may be in recovery or relapsing,” he continued.
The County Department of Mental Health currently serves nearly 1,000 individuals with mental health issues and 2,500 people receiving help for drug and alcohol addictions. For those in need of assistance, they can call the Department of Mental Health at (518) 447-4537, the Capital Region Open Access Engagement Program at 1-866-930-4999, or the State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services at 1-877-8-HOPENY. The County Mental Health Support Line is available seven days a week from 8am to 8pm at (518) 269-6634. Anyone experiencing a psychiatric emergency should still call the Albany County Mobile Crisis Team at (518) 549–6500.
