ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Good Morning, Capital Region!

NEWS10’s Matt Mackie is forecasting cool temperatures and some rain showers for today.

Here’s what you need to know this Thursday.

1. New COVID-19 tracing program

In an effort to fight COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a new statewide and regional tracing program.

The Governor said the tracing will be expensive and challenging, but there will be coordination from neighboring states New Jersey and Connecticut. Michael Bloomberg has also volunteered to develop and implement the tracing army. 

Johns Hopkins University and Vital Strategies will also be partners. Currently, the Governor said there’s about 500 tracers, but thousands will be needed. The state will also work with SUNY and CUNY to draw from medical field students.

2. Recovered from COVID-19, frontline workers donating plasma to help others

Some of the first people infected with COVID-19 have recovered. Now they’re donating plasma to help others with the virus on their road to recovery.

Doctors are using the antibodies from plasma of a recovered coronavirus patient and transferring it into a patient who is currently battling the virus to help them recover.

St. Peter’s Health Partners is reaching out to people to donate plasma who have gone to its testing site and have tested positive for the virus and have recovered. The American Red Cross is also accepting donations from recovered COVID-19 patients.

Click here to learn more about donating your plasma

3. House expected to send 4th coronavirus aid bill to Trump

The House is expected to send President Donald Trump a fourth bill to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus, the almost $500 billion measure would help fund the depleted small business program, hospitals and testing.

Most of the funding, $331 billion, would go to boost a small-business payroll loan program that ran out of money last week. An additional $75 billion would be given to hospitals, and $25 billion would be spent to boost testing for the virus, a key step in building the confidence required to reopen state economies.

4. Hundreds swarm the Capitol to demand Cuomo reopen New York economy

The protesters called for Governor Cuomo to hear them — open businesses in need, even baby steps are steps forward, they said.

Inside the Capitol, Governor Cuomo held daily press briefing. When asked about the protest, he responded he understands, but just because we’re past the peak, doesn’t mean coronavirus will compromise.

5. Updated Coronavirus case numbers in the Capital Region

There are 257,216 positive confirmed cases of the virus, according to the New York State Department of Health.

The death toll in the state stands at 15,302 since Wednesday morning.

NEWS10 created graphs that track coronavirus trends over time. We update that information daily based on the numbers given by county officials. For the best representation for coronavirus numbers in your area, we’ll keep you informed at NEWS10.

County by County, we are still seeing an increase in cases. Here are the numbers according to the New York State Department of Health.

County	Positive Cases
Albany	737
Columbia	117
Fulton	28
Greene	87
Montgomery	38
Rensselaer	186
Saratoga	264
Schenectady	280
Schoharie	20
Warren	108
Washington	73

Coronavirus Response Live

Coronavirus Response Live is a weekly segment highlighting what is being done to combat the spread of coronavirus and the impact on New York State.

The New York Blitz returns with a draft special

You can watch it online, here:

Morph Man spotted spreading cheer in Gloversville

William Rowback, Jr. is a Gloversville Councilman-at-Large and affectionately known as the Morph Man. Donning his rainbow suit, he stopped by the Wells Nursing Home Wednesday to cheer up the residents who watched from their windows.

And listen to this song created by a Capital Region musician…

After being inspired by the current situation, Spakoski turned to music as an outlet. His song “Somebody’s Hero” was born from one of his previous works from last year.