The COVID-19 news in the Hudson Valley continued to be bad Jan. 3, as the fast-catching Omicron variant is certainly here. In Greene County, officials announced two more deaths in our community over the weekend and 263 new cases with 29 hospitalized. There were 126 new cases announced Jan. 3 in Columbia County, with 26 hospitalized and three in the Intensive Care Unit. Ulster County on Monday reported 3,157 active cases of COVID on Jan. 3, up from the 3,021 it reported the previous day. Dutchess County announced on Jan. 3 that it had 5,491 actives cases of COVID, up from the 5,042 it reported the previous day and more than double the county’s early 2021 peak of 2,576. In Albany County, the number of new COVID-19 cases announced was still very larger, but not as bad as recent days. There were 429 new positive cases were reported Jan. 3 there, lower than the 558 new positive cases announced Jan. 2 and much lower than the 1,003 new cases. reported Dec. 31. Albany County is currently seeing 17.8 percent of tests coming back positive on a seven-day average, while the Capital Region as a whole was slightly lower, at 16.1 percent. Delaware County has 462 active cases, so a little over one percent of the county has officially had a positive PCR test recently, and is considered an “active” case.