Columbia County

  Board of Supervisors

Chairman’s Press Release

DOH REPORTS SLIGHT TICK UP CONTINUES

As of Thursday, per the CDC, Columbia County’s rate of new COVID-19 cases remains in the low risk category. Also as of Thursday, the CDC-reported current average of new daily cases per 100,000 of population stood at 8.4.

The positive test rate is 5.6 percent. Although New York State has lifted the mandate for mask wearing while inside a business, local health care officials continue to encourage the wearing of masks while indoors, particularly for those with health problems.

Additional information on daily COVID-19 cases and more can be found on the Columbia County Department of Health’s website at https://www.columbiacountynyhealth.com

“The tick up I reported last week continued this week with Monday’s 23 cases the most we’ve had on a Monday in six weeks,” Columbia County Department of Health Director Jack Mabb said today. “Hospitalizations remain low at four, with no one in the ICU.” Thursday, he added.

“We had our first second booster pod, with 130 getting a booster. Interestingly, 35 of them were people getting a first booster. These were clearly people who were not opposed to getting the shot who just never made the time.”

As of Friday, April 8, the Columbia County Department of Health had administered 11,280 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Second doses now number 9,558. The vaccine administered is Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson. Note: J&J – a one dose vaccine – is added as a first shot. Third shots of Moderna or Pfizer now number 3,973. Johnson & Johnson boosters number 63. Pediatric first shots number 584, with 571 second shots. The total number of Columbia County residents by all vaccine providers, as shown on the NYS COVID-19 vaccine tracker website: 45,420 have received at least one dose, or 75.8 percent of the county’s 59,916 population.

The Mobile Crisis Assessment Team was launched in 2015 and is operated by the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties Inc.

The goal of our program is to provide rapid, effective linkages to appropriate services to address a broad range of needs, including both crisis and non-crisis intervention. Our intentions are to decrease unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations, divert from unnecessary police intervention and connect individuals to appropriate longer-term services.

Our team is equipped with staff from diverse backgrounds that are both licensed and unlicensed, enabling us to provide community members with a wide range of services. We encourage all individuals to remember that the term “crisis” is defined differently and individualized to the person seeking or being recommended for services.

Mobile Crisis has worked with individuals of all ages (children, teens, adolescents and adults), providing over the phone support services as well as confidential in person services.

A huge THANK YOU to Greene and Columbia County Legislative and Supervising bodies for the continued financial support so the program remains intact!

The Mobile Crisis Assessment Team can be reached at 518-943-5555. Our team is available between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., 7 days a week, 365 days a year. All services are free and confidential to all individuals in Greene and Columbia County, and any and all inquiries are encouraged.

–Submitted by Katherine Oldakowski, MCAT Director

Due to low response, the county DOH has discontinued the school COVID testing PODs. The DOH will continue to provide testing for students and staff of Columbia County schools who need a negative test to return to school. This will be by appointment only at the DOH Monday-Friday between the hours of 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:45- 3:30 p.m. Parents may contact (518) 828-3358 X1251 to schedule these appointments when needed. This testing will still only be for staff/students of Columbia County schools who need a negative COVID test to return to school.

Also available on the county DOH website is information on filing home testing reports as well as affirmation letters of quarantine and/or isolation that may be required by employers.

The Columbia County Department of Health is offering first, second, and third doses of COVID-19 vaccines as well as boosters for those aged 16 and above at Columbia-Greene Community College every Thursday in March from 3-5:30 p.m. The DOH will offer a pediatric (ages 5-11) Pfizer clinic at this clinic.

Those who are receiving boosters or subsequent doses of vaccine should bring their vaccine record card. Future clinics will be held on a walk-in basis – registration links will no longer be posted. Further information is posted on the county DOH website at columbiacountynyhealth.com.

Disclaimer

It is the county’s intention to issue accurate information regarding the coronavirus situation under conditions that can change by the minute. For the most up-to-date, accurate information, visit the County Department of Health’s website at https://www.columbiacountynyhealth.com or their Facebook page @: https://www.facebook.com/Columbia-County-Department-of-Health-469399129790791. The state’s coronavirus website, with up-to-the-minute information, can be located at https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/home. Every Friday afternoon, Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell will issue a press release on the coronavirus situation. The releases can be found on the Columbia County website and the Facebook pages of the Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Health, and the Emergency Management Office