An elderly person with several pre-existing health conditions has died from COVID-19, according to a statement released by the Columbia County Department of Health on Saturday.
It is the county’s first reported death from the virus that has swept across the globe since early this year.
“We are sad to report that an elderly individual, who was infected with COVID-19, along with multiple other co-morbidities, has passed away,” according to the statement.
The name, age and gender of the person, or the town in which they live, has not been released.
There are 30 people who have tested positive for the virus in Columbia County, with four of them hospitalized, as of Saturday.
There have been 309 county residents tested for the coronavirus, 79 are under mandatory quarantine, and 42 are under precautionary quarantine, according to the Health Department.
Ten additional residents are suspected of having the virus, but have not been tested. Capital Region hospitals, including Columbia Memoria Health and Albany Medical Center, among others, have strictly limited testing due to a shortage of test kits.
In Greene County, there were 11 positive cases as of Saturday afternoon, in Windham, Durham, Greenville, Hunter, Cairo and Catskill. Three people who tested positive have been cleared and given the status of “discharged,” according to the county’s Health Department website, with eight active positive cases.
There are 81 people being self-monitored for possible exposure and eight additional individuals who have been released from quarantine. One person was hospitalized.