3 Local Counties Should Again Mask Up Based On CDC Guidance

As COVID infection rates continue to spike due to the Delta variant, there are 3 local counties in and around the Capital Region that would fall under new CDC guidance to return to wearing masks indoors.

Just as we were starting to feel like life was getting pretty normal again, the specter of having to wear masks in all indoor locations should become a reality in Saratoga, Greene, and Warren Counties according to a New York Upstate story.

NYUP says new CDC guidance is recommending that "...people should return to wearing masks indoors in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19. That includes places with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the past week, or nearly two-thirds of U.S. counties." Saratoga, Warren, and Greene Counties with their current infection rates would fall under this guidance, which applies for the vaccinated and unvaccinated. The infection rate in Saratoga reached 4.5 percent Thursday, while Greene was at 5.45 percent and Warren County 1.87 percent.

The ray of light through all of this is even with breakthrough cases with the vaccinated (Which are happening but still rare), the hospitalizations and deaths for those who have gotten the vaccine remain near zero. For example, Saratoga Country Public Health Services published the data below on their Facebook earlier today:

Hopefully, this data is a solid sign this recent surge won't become as crazy as earlier ones during the pandemic. Regardless, it does feel a little like one step forward two steps back right now. Let's keep our fingers crossed we don't have the need to step back into mask requirements in the near future.