Albany County Executive Dan McCoy is sounding a hopeful note on re-opening the Capital Region, saying the last remaining hurdle - the hiring of additional contract tracers to meet the governor's metrics - could be cleared before the day is out.
The region needs to have 383 contact tracers to meet the state's requirements. McCoy said he expects there will be between 400 and 500 trained tracers once a training program that has been underway and is ongoing today is fully complete. During a Times Union live interview on Monday, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said the City of Albany alone has more than 70 employees that will be trained to conducting tracing.
Available on the Albany County website, the"Capital Region Forward plan," which includes preliminary information about a pledge that businesses and employees are being asked to sign to indicate they understanding the responsibilities they have when it comes to re-opening safely and maintaining the re-opening status.
In addition, an online portal as part of the Capital Region Control Room is being created to connect local businesses to health and safety guidelines as well as to resources such as grants, loans, credits, and local incentives.
According to the Albany Business Review, this portal will enable businesses to upload their safety plans and also sign the aforementioned pledge, as well as report their compliance status and answer survey questions so officials can monitor the re-opening process in real time.
As part of Governor Cuomo's NY Forward re-opening plan phase-one re-opening industry business owners must affirm online that they have read industry guidance, and must also prepare a safety plan.