COVID-19 Update

The Columbia County Department of Health has released its numbers for today. Since yesterday, there have been ten new cases of COVID-19. The number of active cases being reports todays is four more than yesterday, from which it can be inferred that six county residents have recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. There are seven more county residents in mandatory quarantine today than yesterday. The number hospitalized with the virus and in the ICU remains the same. There has not been a death from COVID-19 in Columbia County since June 24.

The following is quoted from a press release issued by Board of Supervisors chair Matt Murell earlier this afternoon:

With the news from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that Columbia County is now considered a community at substantial risk for COVID-19 transmission, the CDC is recommending all individuals, whether vaccinated or not, to wear a mask when indoors. In addition, county DOH is now requiring all its employees to wear a mask when in the DOH Office. “Pretty much all area departments of health and hospitals are now doing the same,” said Director Mabb. 

“The county is not instituting a mask mandate at this point,” said county Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell. “The way things stand, people need to make their own mask decisions. I would say, if you’re unsure, wear a mask. We are strongly recommending that masks be worn indoors in public places.”  

The New York Forward dashboard is reporting a positivity rate for Columbia County yesterday of 3.8 percent and a seven-day average of 2.9 percent. By comparison, the daily positivity rate for the Capital Region is 6.0 percent and the seven-day average is 3.9 percent.

A year ago today, the CCDOH reported three new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases was 500, and the number of active cases was fourteen. There were 96 county residents in mandatory quarantine, three were hospitalized, and none was in the ICU. The total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 at this time last year was 37.