Orleans drops to orange zone while Genesee in red in latest CDC map for Covid transmission
The latest CDC map on community spread of Covid-19 drops Orleans County from red to orange, or from high transmission to “substantial.”
Genesee County, however, has moved from orange to a red zone for high spread of Covid-19.
The two counties on Thursday had 99 active cases with 50 in Genesee and 49 in Orleans. State data on Friday showed six more in Orleans and 7 more in Genesee.
There were also 11 hospitalizations reported by the Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments on Thursday with 8 from Genesee and 3 from Orleans.
“All of these hospitalizations are community members across the age spectrum and not nursing home residents,” said Paul Pettit, public health director for the two counties. “The majority are unvaccinated.”
The CDC county report is based on 7 days of data from Aug. 12 to Aug. 18. The CDC looks at total new cases per 100,000 people over seven days and percentage of positive tests.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently has 87.4 percent or 2,813 of the counties in the red for high community transmission. Another 7.6 percent or 243 are yellow for substantial spread. There are 2.0 percent or 64 that have moderate spread and are in the yellow zone. The remaining 3.1 percent or 99 are blue for low spread.
Pettit said Orleans is “right on the edge” to going back to red. The local G-O Health Departments continue to urge people to get vaccinated. Those who are aren’t vaccinated are encouraged to discuss getting the shot with their primary care provider.
The Health Department also recommends people – vaccinated and unvaccinated – to wear masks when indoors in public and when at crowded outdoor settings.