With the COVID-19 Delta variant and breakthrough cases in the news of late, Livingston County would like to provide an update on COVID-19 trends and issues.
“Presently, cases are trending upward”, said Jennifer Rodriguez, Livingston County’s Public Health Director. “We must remember that these are just cases – confirmed, positive cases of COVID-19, both Delta and non-Delta cases. We have had no recent deaths, and currently, there are 4 hospitalizations, all of which are unvaccinated individuals.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a recommendation that fully vaccinated people wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of “substantial” or “high” community transmission as opposed to “low” or “moderate” areas. According to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, Livingston County is currently at a “moderate” level of community transmission.
Some local businesses are encouraging a return to universal mask-wearing; however, Livingston County government is not presently considering any county-wide indoor mask mandate.
“We encourage our residents to consider the following. One, COVID-19 is not going to go away so, to put it bluntly, we need to learn to live with the persistent threat of exposure to it. Two, vaccines work for protection against the worst of the virus’ impacts,” stated County Administrator Ian M. Coyle. “Therefore, the normal protocols of the last 18 months remain the same. Take precautions, get vaccinated, wash hands, maintain distancing, get tested if symptoms arise, and follow isolation and quarantine procedures for the COVID-19 positive.”
“The policies at the County government level for our internal operations will remain the same, more or less. We are striking the balance of safety and going about our business. Public access to services is still the same. We expect some slight changes with nursing home staff testing to add further transmission prevention efforts at that facility,” continued Coyle.
Public education back-to-school plans are in the works and the County remains steadfast in its support of the K-12 districts serving Livingston County residents. With no statewide regulations, the autonomy rests with the individual schools on what constitutes a safe opening for the fall.
Rodriguez said, “We are here for our schools. Last year, these districts led the way in terms of their flexibility and agility as they worked through the challenges of maintaining and sustaining in-person year-round learning. I see no reason why that cannot happen again in 2021-2022 due to the hard work of teachers and staff and the stick-to-itiveness of the school-age children.”
For the latest COVID-19 information for Livingston County, please visit the Livingston County Department of Health webpage or call 585-243-7270.
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