PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Montgomery County’s recommendation that people wear a mask while indoors went into effect on Monday. In a press release sent on Friday, officials said the county is "following CDC guidelines to maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent spread of the virus."
Masks are recommended to be worn in indoor spaces whether a person is vaccinated or not. This is not a mandate, like in Philadelphia. Officials are requiring mask wearing inside county buildings and facilities.
The change was made as Montco, over the weekend, moved into the "high" transmission level, according to the CDC, after spending the previous two weeks at a "substantial" level. The county joined Philadelphia, South Jersey and Delaware as the places in the area with such level of transmission.
Look up your county on the CDC's map of transmission levels.
A community is considered to be in the "high" category, if the seven-day average of COVID-19 cases per 1,000 people is equal than or greater than 100. As of Monday morning, it was 104.46.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations and ICU beds being used are also up slightly. The numbers may be higher than they were within the last few months, but the rise has not been as dramatic as other parts of the country that have lower vaccination rates.
As of Monday morning, about 65% of those who are eligible to get vaccinated in Montco are fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC.
Local officials and those around the country continue to strongly recommend that people get the shots as the vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated.