ALBANY — As the region gears up for what’s forecast to be a beautiful three-day weekend, Capital Region leaders are urging people to avoid large gatherings, backyard get-togethers and many of the usual activities that typify Memorial Day weekend in America.
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in many parts of the world and locally, the Albany region just this week got the authorization to begin a phased reopening of its economy. Actions people take this weekend, Albany County officials said, will determine whether the region can stay open. More importantly, they said, it will determine whether more people become sick and die.
“I know a lot of people like to have barbecues, they like to come together…but we’ve got to do it a little bit differently this year,” County Executive Dan McCoy said.
McCoy, an Iraq War veteran, reminded people that Memorial Day weekend is about honoring and remembering those who made “the ultimate sacrifice” so Americans can enjoy their freedoms.
“I know a lot of people feel like their freedoms are being taken away because they’re sitting at home and being told they can’t go out, they can’t do this, they can’t do that,” he said. “I can assure you the governor, myself, no one takes any pride in sitting here and saying ‘I want you to stay home.’ But we want to protect the people, our constituents of Albany County and the Capital District.”
People can still go out, he and county health commissioner Elizabeth Whalen said Friday. But when they do, they should bring a mask and wear it when around other people, and socially distance as much as possible. They reminded people not to gather in groups larger than 10.
"I keep hearing from so many people, 'I’m done with this, I’ve had enough, I’m over this,'" McCoy said. "But it hasn’t gone away...it’s still there and it’s going to continue to be there. So we need your help to do the right stuff. We want you to go out, have your mask in public, clean your hands and do the right thing."
Their urgings came the same day McCoy announced the county was informed of another three deaths from the virus. The deaths occurred in early May at a private nursing home in the county, McCoy said. They were reported to the state but the county health department only learned of them Thursday.
The victims included a man in his 60s, and two women in their 80s. All three had underlying health conditions. The deaths bring the county’s known death toll from the virus to 76.
Another 41 cases were confirmed in the county overnight for 1,619 to date. Of those, 1,064 have recovered. Twenty-seven people were hospitalized with the virus on Friday, up two from the day before. One of those people was in the ICU.
County officials also discussed their concern that residents between the ages of 20 and 29 continue to spread the virus throughout the community. That age group has the second most cases in the county, second only to 50- to 59-year-olds.
“I know this is an age group who they want to be out, they want to be socializing, they want to be with friends…what I would say to that group is please consider that it rests upon your shoulders what happens in the next couple weeks,” Whalen said. “This is really hard for a lot of people to get their heads around — that what we do today is going to influence what happens in two or more weeks. And it seems nebulous, it seems something you can’t really factor in right now, but we have to. We have to.”
“We have seen what’s happened in other countries when people have taken the words “starting to open up” more liberally than they should,” she continued. “When people have said, ‘Oh, well, they’re opening phase one so that means we can go hang out with friends and go out and have parties and do everything that we normally want to do at a time like this and it’s going to be a beautiful weekend. But there are really terrible consequences that could occur.”
While many of the newest cases in the county have been occurring among residents of long-term care facilities, she said, those residents aren’t getting the virus in a vacuum.
She noted that people in the community get sick and spread it to others who may work in a nursing home, and who then carry the virus in to those vulnerable populations unwittingly.
“So I would urge that group to really be cautious…please take this responsibility seriously,” she said.