Test Positive for COVID-19? There is a 1 in 15 Chance Your Neighb

One year ago at this time we were just starting to be aware of the pandemic and terms such as "social distancing", "remote learning", "droplet transmission" and "super-spreader". As January 2021 comes to a close, not only do New Yorkers know more about Coronavirus Disease, 1 in every 15 New Yorkers are testing positive for the virus.

According to New York Upstate, 1.3 million people out of the state’s 19.4 million population have test positive for the coronavirus. The Albany County Department of Health shows that out of more than 405,000 New Yorkers, more than 17,000 residents of Albany County have tested positive for COVID-19. The majority of those positive results, 3,747 people, were found in adults between 20-29 years old followed by 30-39 year olds at 2654 people.

Thinking back to October 2020, I remember talking with friends and family and none of us even knew anyone that had the virus. Move forward just 3 months and I can count approximately 7 people that I know in the Capital Region that have tested positive. Here is a look, as of Monday January 25th, town by town at positive results courtesy of the COVID-19 Dashboard.

Alcove - 7 cases
Preston Hollow - 14 cases
Troy - 194
Altamont - 404 cases
Latham - 1,128 cases
Cohoes - 1,186

As startling as that is, there is encouraging news. ABC 7 reports, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York state's COVID hospitalization rate of increase is slowing. He said this past week was the first week with declining hospitalizations since early September. COVID cases are also declining across all regions of the country. Hospitalizations are the lowest since mid-December.

I have been diligent about wearing my mask and I try to do the right thing at the grocery store but even the best of intentions evade us from time to time. Now as I look around, I start to count. There are 15 people at the registers in Hannaford and I begin to wonder, which one has it? Am I paranoid? My instinct? Protection? I am not sure which applies to me but when you break it down to 1 in 15 New Yorkers test positive, it changes the game.