The local COVID-19 new case numbers are unlike any the Hudson Valley has seen before. In Greene County officials reported 192 new cases on Jan. 4, and 208 more on Jan. 5. That brings the Greene County total to 1,135 current cases. Columbia County reported two more deaths on Jan. 4, and 107 new cases. On Jan. 5, Columbia County announced 106 more cases, for a total of 570. Greene County has more cases per capita than Columbia County and a worse vaccination rate than Columbia County, with 65.4 percent in Greene, and 74 percent of residents in Columbia County with at least one dose. Ulster and Dutchess counties also reported a steep increase of new cases of COVID-19 on Jan. 5. Ulster County reported 3,540 cases, up 173 cases from the day before. In Dutchess County, there were three more deaths from coronavirus announced Jan. 5. And the number of cases in Dutchess County rose by 658 to 6,370, a new all-time high and more than twice the Jan. 2021 peak of 2,576. Dutchess County also now has 140 people hospitalized with the disease, up from 123 reported the previous day. Albany city schools announced Jan. 5 that learning would go remote through MLK Day. With 1,000 teachers and staff at schools in the Capital Region reported sick, more school closures are on the horizon. Also, the number of Albany County residents hospitalized by COVID-19 has more than doubled in less than two weeks. Albany County also reported Jan. 5 that a woman in her 80s died of COVID-19. Albany County reported 429 new cases Jan. 4, and 733 on Jan. 5. But that is better than the record number of 1,003 new cases Albany County reported on Dec. 31.