Two counties in the Finger Lakes are experiencing vastly different moments as of the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last week, the CDC changed course and indicated that any county or location in the U.S. with ‘substantial’ COVID-19 spread should see to it that residents mask if indoors- regardless vaccine status.
Now, Seneca County is the second community in the Finger Lakes to reach that criteria. Tompkins County reached that level last week- and Monroe County, which encompasses the city of Rochester- also hit ‘substantial’ spread.
What does that mean? The CDC classifies communities on a four-step scale- ranging from ‘Low’ to ‘High’. In-between those two levels is ‘Moderate’ and ‘High’. Most other counties in the Finger Lakes fell in the ‘Moderate’ category, with Yates County being the only one to be classified as ‘Low’.
Both Seneca and Yates counties have approximately the same percentage of the community vaccinated- with two-dose totals sitting around 43-44%.
Late last week Tompkins County announced that it would ask residents to mask indoors. However, as of late-Sunday no word has come down from Seneca County on masking.
As of July 30, Seneca County reported 17 active cases, 25 individuals in quarantine, and 80 people tested.
CDC map around Seneca County.
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