Town of Clifton Park
The Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services today announced that there are 368 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Saratoga County and 9 of those individuals are hospitalized at this time.
Mask and hand sanitizer distribution
The Office of Emergency Services has set up four distribution sites for reusable masks and hand sanitizer. This will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 7 and last until supplies run out. Provided by the New York State Stockpile, masks and hand sanitizer will be given out based the number of individuals in each vehicle. The locations are:
• Moreau – Moreau Town Hall, 351 Reynolds Road
• Wilton – Gavin Park, 10 Lewis Road
• Mechanicville – O’Reilly Auto Parts, 80 N. Central Avenue
• Clifton Park – Clifton Park Senior Community Center, 6 Clifton Common Boulevard
Efforts to reopen
Saratoga County is taking action to address the Governor's phased plan to reopen New York. We have established a task force to increase testing within our county, acquire an appropriate level of contact tracers and collaborate with the seven other Capital Region counties. The Capital Region will be working towards the common goal of meeting the Governor's criteria for allowing businesses to open up; however, it is important to note that we have not met the CDC recommendation at this time to start phase one, which states that once a region experiences a 14 -day decline in the hospitalization rate, they can begin a phased reopening.
Facebook Live event earlier today
Officials from Saratoga County and community partners hosted a Facebook Live event today at 10:00 a.m. to answer questions from residents related to COVID-19. The hour-long event was hosted on the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services Facebook page and featured:
• Frank McClement – Director of Veterans Service Agency
• John Stewart – COVID-19 survivor, Saratoga Springs Firefighter and Office of Emergency Services Deputy EMS Coordinator
• Dr. Oliver Robinson – Superintendent of Shenendehowa Central School District
• Gregory Connors – U.S. Government Affairs at GlobalFoundries
Community members can re-watch the stream here:
Data Dashboard
A link to the data dashboard can be found at the top of the Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services’ COVID-19 website, located here: https://www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/publichealth/…/
Testing
New York State Department of Health has opened up diagnostic and/or serological testing for individuals who are employed as a healthcare worker, first responder or other essential worker who directly interacts with the public while on the job. Testing must be authorized by a healthcare provider. Saratoga Hospital drive-thru and the Capital District Mobile Testing Center at SUNY Albany (Colonial Quad) are available by appointment only.
COVID-19 is widespread
As you may have seen, the Saratoga County Department of Public Health Services has posted data in a more comprehensive way on its website, including breakdowns of positive cases by municipality.
It is important to note that there may be a false sense of security when looking at these numbers by municipality. It is clear that the COVID-19 virus is widespread throughout our county, and the numbers are deceiving due to the lack of testing.
There is no way to capture the individuals who have the virus and do not show any signs or symptoms. An asymptomatic person can still spread the virus to others. It is especially important to continue to wear a face covering when out in public and keep greater than six feet from one another. As always, clean and disinfect common surfaces, wash your hands and use hand sanitizer frequently.