At least 12 counties in New York State should now go back to wearing masks indoors, according to a new guide from the CDC.
Among the areas subject to the new federal agency parameters are New York City, Long Island and Westchester County.
Here you can see the CDC map and locate your area.
The CDC said Tuesday that people should return to wearing face masks indoors in areas with “substantial” (areas in orange) and “high” (areas in red) transmission of COVID-19. That includes places with at least 50 new cases for every 100,000 people in the past week, or nearly two-thirds of the nation’s counties.
According to the agency’s map, at least 12 counties in the state should wear masks indoors, including in the five counties of the Big Apple and Long Island.
Richmond County (Staten Island) is currently experiencing “high” transmission, while all others are experiencing a “substantial” spread of the coronavirus, according to the CDC map.
Residents of at least two counties in upstate New York – Greene County and Warren County – should now wear masks even if vaccinated, according to the latest data available Thursday.
Greene County has experienced a 5.45% positivity rate in the past seven days, while Warren County has risen to 1.87% from 0.45% a month ago.
Less than 50% of residents in Greene County, located in the Catskills region, are fully vaccinated. Warren County, located north of Saratoga Springs and Albany, has vaccinated about 61% of its residents.
This would be the list of counties in New York State where vaccinated people must return to wearing masks indoors due to “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19, according to the most recent data:
Bronx County
Greene County
Kings County
Nassau County (Long Island)
New York County (Manhattan)
Orange County
Queens County
Condado de Richmond (Staten Island)
Saratoga County
Suffolk County (Long Island)
Warren County
Westchester County
Governor Andrew Cuomo has not issued any new rules, but said Tuesday that New York state is closely reviewing the new CDC recommendations in consultation with federal and state health experts.
“New Yorkers beat Covid before, going from the highest positivity rate in the world to one of the lowest, being smart, following the science and supporting each other, and that is exactly what we will continue to do in this next phase of the pandemic. Cuomo said.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the new CDC recommendation is largely due to the more transmissible Delta variant, which accounted for 83% of Covid cases in the country. 72% of recent Covid cases in New York are of the Delta variant.
When the CDC updated its guidance in May and suggested that vaccinated people could stop wearing the mask, the Delta variant accounted for only 1% of infections.
Most of the new infections in the country continue to occur among unvaccinated people. So-called “breakthrough” infections, which generally cause milder illnesses, can occur in vaccinated people.
Walensky said that while it is rare, vaccinated people still have the potential to transmit COVID and become ill from breakthrough infections.
“This new science is concerning and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations,” Walensky told the media on Tuesday. “It’s worrying enough that we feel like we have to act.”
The CDC also recommended that teachers, staff, students, and visitors wear masks inside every school in the country, regardless of vaccination status. Children under the age of 12 cannot yet be vaccinated, and a large number of children under the age of 18 are not yet vaccinated.
The CDC recommendation for unvaccinated people remains the same nationwide: continue to wear the mask until you receive the vaccine. And masks are still recommended for everyone in crowded indoor environments, such as buses, airplanes, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters.
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