Albany Mayor Concerned About Uptick in College COVID-19 Cases

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan is deeply concerned about the uptick in COVID-19 cases among college students.

Before the semester began students at SUNY were given instructions on how to stay safe from COVID-19 while participating in in-person classes.  In addition, students were required to provide negative COVID-19 test results.

There has been a recent sudden rise in COVID-19 cases at the University at Albany campus and local officials are all very concerned.  There are now 56 confirmed positive cases at the university, and more than 30% of those cases have been reported in the last five days.

Students living both on-campus and off-campus have been infected with the coronavirus. Many of the students live off-campus and are athletes, however, 10 students living on campus have tested positive.

According to News 10,  Albany Mayor, Kathy Sheehan, expressed her concern in a recent statement. She said, “I am deeply concerned with the spike in cOVID-19 cases reported last night at SUNY Albany.  I have spoken directly with President Rodriguez and reinforce my concern for Albany residents who may come in contact with infected students in our stores, restaurants, and parks.”

Mayor Sheehan is pleading with students to follow COVID-19 prevention protocol.  She instructed students to wear masks, avoid large crowds and to practice social distancing rules.  Mayor Sheehan threatened to shut the campus down if students did not follow these rules.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is also concerned with the recent rise and threatened to stop in-person learning if cases continue to rise. It will be interesting to see if young people can maintain social distancing and masking while living on a college campus.

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