The Times Union reports about rising COVID-19 case counts in the area, and events being canceled because of the rapid spread of the Delta variant. This week there were COVID-19 deaths in Greene and Schenectady counties. In Albany County, County Executive McCoy said Aug. 13 they had 51 new positive cases in the past two days. The fireboat Harvey canceled its visit with the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston after the crew had a positive COVID result. The Iroquois Museum in Howes Cave canceled the Iroquois Arts Festival on Sept. 4 and 5. "The Museum remains open on our regular schedule but concern for the safety of our visitors, artists, volunteers, and staff at a large event like the Festival helped us to make this difficult decision," a statement said. Proctors Theatre is now requiring vaccinations for anyone attending shows there, where previously they just had a mask mandate. Southwest Airlines reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Aug. 11 that it’s seeing an increased number of cancellations and fewer bookings because of the highly contagious Delta variant. Greene County announced 12 more COVID-19 cases Aug. 12, and a high 4.9 percent positive test results over the last week. Columbia County reported nine new cases Aug. 12. Dutchess County has 595 active cases, more than double the number at the beginning of August. Read more about this story in the Times Union.