Massarah Mikati reports in the Times Union that Albany County announced another new COVID-19-related death on Nov. 29, as case counts and hospitalizations rise to las winter's levels. There were 75 more coronavirus cases announced Nov. 29 in Albany County, and 53 county residents hospitalized due to COVID-19. "The alarming trend of increasing hospitalizations continues today, exceeding the levels last seen at the end of February," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. "Between what we’re seeing here locally and the news that the Omicron variant has been detected in a growing list of countries around the world, including Canada, it’s critical that we all remain vigilant and take the proper precautions we know are effective." Albany County has not had this many hospitalizations since Feb. 25. McCoy said last week that an indoor mask mandate in Albany County may come if case counts surge after Thanksgiving. "If it is really at the point where we're in the critical zone, yeah, you'll see me some time next week," McCoy said. Read more about this story in the Times Union.