Higher COVID-19 Transmission Risk In The Hudson Valley: CDC

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Counties with high transmission rates of the coronavirus should follow the Centers for Disease Control's new guidance on mask-wearing indoors, Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged Monday, expanding state policies and recommending municipal, school and business leaders do the same.

As of Aug 2, the CDC's county-level tracker sorts most counties in the Hudson Valley into the middle of four levels:

• Substantial risk: Columbia, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, Westchester
• Moderate risk: Dutchess, Rockland, Ulster

The CDC's new coronavirus guidelines — and the delta variant that led to them — have led to much concern, Cuomo said in a morning briefing. "The sudden reversal by the CDC was so abrupt as to cause cynicism and confusion."

However, what the CDC reported Friday — that vaccinated people can spread the delta variant — is a pivotal piece of information, he said.

Given the new understanding, Cuomo announced an expansion of the policy set last week for all the state's hospitals, that employees either be vaccinated or be tested once a week.

The MTA and the Port Authority will also begin that policy for their employees in New York starting Labor Day.

He recommended that school districts in counties with the highest risk levels set that same policy. Also, he recommended that county and local governments ranked as "substantial" or "high" by the CDC, follow the new mask guidance, that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors.

He said he knew local leaders are concerned about people's reactions.

"Well, people are going to be upset no matter what you do," he said.

He urged local governments, school districts and business owners to watch the numbers and adjust as the numbers adjust.

If transmission rates don’t come down, New York should consider mandatory vaccines for nursing home workers, he said.

Meanwhile, he urged businesses such as bars and restaurants in communities with higher transmission rates to voluntarily go to vaccine-only admission now.

"I don’t believe a mask policy is to be to be enough. I think we’re going to have to talk about a vaccination policy," Cuomo warned. "Everything should be on the table because if these numbers rise quickly it can’t be that we aren’t ready."

If you are vaccinated you are less likely to catch the delta variant, and you’re very unlikely to be hospitalized, he said. The CDC data shows that 4 out of 100,000 vaccinated people catch it, compared to 17 out of 100,000 unvaccinated people. Only 0.19 out of every 100,000 vaccinated people who catch it are hospitalized, compared to 1.25 out of 100,000 unvaccinated people.

The CDC's guidance for people who are unvaccinated is unchanged: Always mask up indoors.