ALBANY COUNTY — Senate Democrats on Saturday passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which now must clear the House a second time.

No Republican Senators voted for the measure, which was applauded by both Democratic and Republican members of the New York State Association of Counties on Saturday.

“This is a victory for all of the counties in the State of New York and the residents we serve. In a time when so much of our politics is bitterly divided, county leaders from both ends of the political spectrum advocated for this package because it will help them help their communities recover from this pandemic,” said Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, a Republican, who is president of the Association, in a statement.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, a Democrat, praised the plan at his Friday press briefing, saying it took “11 months of fighting” to get the package. He said Albany County is slated to receive $59 million.

The plan includes $3.8 billion for the state’s 62 counties, to be allocated based on population. The five counties that make up New York City are to get $1.6 billion and the other 57 counties are to get $2.2 billion. New York City will receive another $4 billion through Community Development Block Grant formula funding.

The Rescue Plan’s funding can be used to respond to the public health emergency caused by the coronavirus as well as to address the economic fallout that came with it, including assistance to households, small businesses and not-for-profits, and aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality.

The funding may also be used to help governments provide services and make investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

“I am grateful to the U.S. Senate for passing the American Rescue Plan today to bring much-needed nutrition assistance and financial relief to millions of families struggling to pay the bills and put healthy food on the table,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement on Saturday.

He went on, “The bill not only boosts SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits through September, it also increases targeted nutrition assistance to mothers and young children and expedites more nutrition aid to U.S. territories. Farmers, business owners, and workers across the food supply chain will see additional assistance to respond to market disruption, as well … The American Rescue Plan is historic for other reasons, namely for the transformative debt relief it provides to Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and other farmers of color.”

“The House of Representatives should move swiftly to pass this vital relief package because recovery from this ongoing crisis is not about politics,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement on Saturday. “There cannot be a national recovery if the states and local governments do not get relief — it is simple as that.”

In an unrelated release on Saturday, New York’s Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said, “A year after the first case of COVID-19 was reported in New York State, the economic disruption caused by the pandemic remains severe. One key measure is the total number of New Yorkers claiming unemployment insurance benefits … The figure remains elevated 11 months after the initial surge of job losses, with 2.4 million claims reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as of mid-February 2021.”

The American Rescue Plan includes one-time direct payments of up to $1,400 for Americans earning $75,000 annually or less and jobless aid of $300 a week to last until Labor Day.

The plan also expands tax cuts for families with children and increases subsidies for child care.

In a release unrelated to the Rescue Plan on Saturday, Cuomo announced $29 million is available to support essential workers and first responders through the Empire Pandemic Response Reimbursement Fund program coordinated by the state’s Office of Children and Family Services.

The program is designed to reimburse out-of-pocket childcare, transportation, lodging, and other qualifying expenses that enabled workers to perform their duties. The funding comes from private donations from individuals, charitable trusts, and businesses made during the COVID crisis.

 Awards will be made to eligible applicants for expenditures on a first come, first served basis until funding runs out. The maximum reimbursement amount is $1,000 per household. 

Newest numbers

In a release Saturday morning, McCoy announced 68 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the county’s total to 20,860.

Of the new cases, 41 did not have clear sources of infection identified, 20 had close contact with someone infected with the disease, six were health-care workers or residents of congregate settings, and one had traveled out of state.

The five-day average for new daily positives has increased to 61.8 from 59.6. There are now 560 active cases in the county, up from 540 on Friday.

The number of Albany County residents under quarantine increased to 1,525 from 1,504. So far, 65,344 residents have completed quarantine. Of those, 20,300 had tested positive and recovered. That is an increase of 46 recoveries since yesterday.

There were three new hospitalizations overnight, and there are now 37 county residents hospitalized from the virus. There are currently four patients in intensive-care units unchanged from Friday.

Albany County’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 359.

Statewide, as of Friday, as a seven-day average, the infection rate is 3.15 percent, according to a Saturday release from Cuomo’s office.

The Capital Region had a positivity rate of 1.96 percent.

Albany County, as of Friday, as a seven-day rolling average, had an infection rate of 1.9 percent, according to the state’s dashboard.