4 Capital Region counties meet CDC level for mask recommendations

Schenectady and Rensselaer counties are the latest parts of the Capital Region to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s threshold for their revised mask guidelines. They join Saratoga and Greene counties.

The CDC updated its guidelines earlier in the week to say everyone – including vaccinated people – should wear masks indoors in areas with substantial or high transmission of the coronavirus.

An interactive map on the CDC’s website shows each county in the United States. Counties with substantial or high transmission levels are shaded orange or red. The ones with low or moderate levels are shaded blue or yellow.

Schenectady and Rensselaer are shown as having substantial transmission in the latest update. Saratoga and Greene counties were already shaded orange.

Warren County was shaded orange earlier in the week, but has been changed to yellow – meaning it has only a moderate transmission level.

Despite the improvement, Warren County is still strongly encouraging all to wear masks again while indoors. With one confirmed case of the delta variant and a high summer tourist population, county leaders are taking precautions.

All other counties in the Capital Region are listed as having a moderate rate of transmission.

The CDC’s mask guidelines are just a recommendation at this point. The state has not issued a mask mandate like it did earlier during the pandemic. Gov. Cuomo says the state is reviewing the new CDC guidance.