WGXC-90.7 FM
Current Columbia County COVID-19 statistics just about match last November
Natasha Vaughn-Holdridge reports for Columbia-Greene Media that the country, and the upper Hudson Valley, has seen a week of troubling COVID-19 statistics reported, including:
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that average daily COVID-19 case counts have risen 35 percent across the country in recent weeks,.
• Columbia County schools reported COVID-19 cases have nearly tripled since Oct. 1.
• The number of active coronavirus cases in Ulster County jumped 118 percent since Nov. 4, and in Dutchess County, case counts are up 62 percent since Nov. 1.
• The Public Works Department in Hudson canceled the Nov. 18 recycling collection because of a staff coronavirus outbreak.
• Albany County reported its highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases since late January, a time when few people were vaccinated. On Nov. 18, Albany County reported 191 new coronavirus cases, and the last time the county reported that many cases was Jan. 28.
Now, Columbia County is reporting yet another death from COVID-19. “It was a man under 40 who was unvaccinated,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said. “It’s another sad case, and the unvaccinated part, as always, kind of gets to you.” Besides two deaths in the past month, Columbia County is also seeing high case counts. “It is a lot, the numbers we’re seeing,” Mabb said. “We had 42 when we came in on Monday, it was 25 this morning. It has been building. Everyday we get a base number and then it builds from there. There are a lot of students involved in this.” And as the numbers of the diseased grow, people are becoming less helpful, he says. “That’s scary, it’s all hands on deck again because we’re getting so many cases,” Mabb said. “The difference, of course, is we’re encountering a lot more resistance from people who we’re calling, from giving up any of their contacts. They don’t want their friends quarantined, hangups, getting sworn at. It’s become a much more common thing.” More people are testing positive throughout the region. The rolling seven-day average positivity rate in Columbia County is 5.7 percent, while it is at 4.3 percent in Albany County, 4.6 percent in Greene County, and 4.6 percent in Rensselaer County. The numbers are about as bad as a year ago. Last November Columbia County had four deaths and 292 cases; this November Columbia County has had two deaths and 277 cases. Only 68.4 percent of Columbia County residents are fully vaccinated. Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.