CDC recommends indoor masking for most NYS counties

ROCHESTER N.Y. (WHEC) — The Centers for Disease Control reports that 29 out of the 54 counties in New York State have a high number of COVID-19 cases.

Counties in the "high" category on the CDC’s COVID-19 tracker have more than 200 cases per 100,000 over the course of seven days or have COVID-positive patients in more than 10% of hospital beds. The CDC said that residents of counties in the "high" category should wear masks indoors.

Monroe County and all five bordering counties are in the "high" category, as are most upstate counties. Monroe had 336 cases per 100,000 this week and 7.4% of patients in hospital beds have COVID. Cases in Monroe county have spiked since early March, shows a chart on the CDC website.

You can explore COVID-19 data in counties statewide and nationally on the CDC’s COVID-19 tracker.