CDC Says These 23 Upstate NY Counties Should Now Mask-Up

The list of NY counties where the CDC is recommending residents once again wear masks has more than doubled in the past week.

As the pandemic continues with the new BA variants of COVID becoming more prevalent in New York and specifically Upstate, the CDC continues to monitor community transmission levels.

They have 3 designations for local counties that include various recommendations for residents to protect themselves: Low, medium, and high-risk. At all three levels, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated and testing for those who have symptoms. In counties with a medium designation, the CDC recommends that at-risk individuals wear a mask indoors. If a county is given a high designation the CDC recommends all residents mask up when in public indoor spaces.

Based on the most recent data from the CDC, the 23 Upstate New York counties below have reached a high-risk designation, including two counties in the Capital Region. This time last week, only 10 Upstate NY counties were on this list. This cluster of counties actually accounts for most of the counties nationwide that currently have a high-risk designation for transmission of the virus.