WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence are among a dozen counties in the U.S. where the risk of getting Covid-19 is so high that masks are recommended.
That’s according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC’s Covid Community Levels map is color-coded. It shows every county in the United States as either high risk in orange, medium risk in yellow or low risk in green.
According to the map, 12 counties nationwide are orange, or high risk. Ten of them are in upstate New York, including 3 in the north country.
The other counties are Broome, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego, Seneca, Tioga, and Wayne.
Two counties in Kansas are considered high-risk according to the national map.
The CDC recommends people in high-risk counties:
- Wear a mask indoors in public and on public transportation
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider taking additional precautions
The CDC calculates its data based on new Covid cases and hospital admissions per 100,000 population over 7-days. It also looks at the percentage of inpatient beds occupied by Covid patients using a 7-day average.
The state lifted its mask mandate for most indoor public spaces in February and schools in March.
We spoke with county officials in the north country about their reaction to the CDC map.
“Disappointed, yes. But not overly surprised,” said Jefferson County Administrator Bob Hagemann. “Many of those counties are adjacent to us, or a little further away. The virus is permeating more and more into this portion of New York state.”
Hagemann says likely contributors are new subvariants of Omicron recently detected more in the Syracuse area.
Meanwhile, Lewis County Manager Ryan Piche says despite the statistics, it shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
“I think everybody understands the risks at this point in the pandemic,” he said. “If you’re feeling a little under the weather, make sure you get a home test and make sure you’re not spreading it to your friends and family this weekend.”
And in St. Lawrence County, Legislature Chair Bill Sheridan says he’s beginning to think this is the new normal.
“I, for one, will not be held captive by the variants and subvariants that seem to be coming up on a regular basis,” he said.
While the CDC recommends masks be worn in areas of high risk, officials say it’s unlikely a mandate will be seen in Jefferson, St. Lawrence, or Lewis County.
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