BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Department of Health says the county is experiencing 'substantial' transmission of COVID-19 with nearly 500 new cases over the last week.
Health officials say there were nearly 100 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed for Thursday in Erie County.
Starting Saturday, anyone entering an Erie County building or facility must wear a face mask.
The Erie County Department of Health and the CDC are recommending that all owners of private establishments open to the public require mask wearing for all employees, guests, and patrons.
“Even with significantly fewer diagnostic tests being done, we have seen a sharp increase in new daily case totals,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “Regardless of vaccination status, wearing a mask is one way to reduce the risk of disease transmission. We continue to recommend that people stay home when sick and get a diagnostic test if you experience symptoms or are a close contact of case.”
“There are people in our county who are highly vulnerable to serious illness or death from a Delta Variant COVID-19 infection, especially unvaccinated people, children who are too young to be eligible for vaccine, and immunocompromised individuals,” said County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “The preventive and protective measures – including vaccination – we take now will have a direct impact on the trends we see in new cases over the next few weeks. There is no better time to get vaccinated, as the available vaccines are safe and effective at preventing serious illness and death. Please do the right thing for your family, our community and our country: get vaccinated.”
