Monroe County moved into the “substantial” COVID-19 transmission zone on Sunday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker.
The tier carries a recommendation by the CDC for all vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear masks in public indoor spaces.
The public health agency has outlined four community transmission levels: low (0-9.99 cases per 100,000 people), moderate (10-49.99 cases), substantial (50-99.99 cases) and high (more than 100 cases).
Monroe County now has 50.02 cases per 100,000 people, just past the 50-case threshold, according to the CDC. The number of cases over the last seven days ending July 31 has jumped 103%. The seven-day rolling positivity rate is listed at 3.14%.
Monroe County had been in the moderate classification since the CDC updated its guidance on July 27.
Mapping CDC’s new guidelines:High transmission areas where you need to wear a mask indoors
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The new federal recommendations are aimed at curbing the spread of the more contagious delta variant. In addition to suggesting masks indoors for counties with 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people or a positivity rate above 8%, the CDC also advised universal indoor masking for teaches, staff, students and visitors inside K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.
In May, the CDC recommended fully vaccinated people could go maskless in most settings. The reversal last week was prompted by surging infection rates in certain areas and new data that showed fully vaccinated people with breakthrough cases of the delta variant can transmit the virus.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky emphasized the importance of vaccinations, saying the bulk of transmission is between unvaccinated people.
New York has not yet reciprocated in its mask rules. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state health officials are reviewing the CDC’s guidelines.
More:CDC recommends masking indoors for some. Will New York follow suit?
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‘I thought I did everything right’:The fully vaccinated are frustrated by CDC’s changing mask advice
Which New York counties are in the public mask zones?
Here is where the CDC recommends masks due to “substantial” or “high” spread. All counties below are in the “substantial” zone except for Nassau, Kings and Richmond, which are “high.”
- Albany
- Bronx
- Chenango
- Columbia
- Erie
- Kings
- Monroe
- Nassau
- New York
- Onondaga
- Orange
- Putnam
- Queens
- Rensselaer
- Richmond
- Saratoga
- Schenectady
- Schoharie
- Seneca
- Suffolk
- Sullivan
- Tompkins
- Westchester
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