Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz Monday sounded the COVID-19 alarm in a briefing widely anticipated following his comments on WBEN's Hardline show Sunday.
Poloncarz announced a four phase approach, including a mask mandate for all indoor public locations in Erie County starting Tuesday. "This is being done in conjunction with emergency powers," said Poloncarz. "The state of emergency still exists in Erie County."
Starting Tuesday, anyone 2 and older must wear masks at all indoor public locations in Erie County, including bars and restaurants, grocery stores, gyms and fitness centers, hotels and banks, and hair salons.
County Executive Mark Poloncarz said if the mask mandate doesn't work by mid-December, the county will require vaccine mandates for indoor dining.
Poloncarz says, "We must take united action," and promises the Erie County Department of Health will be out in the community county-wide to see that the mask mandate and any additional phases that may be implemented are enforced.
"We are seeing a growth in cases, a growth in ICU numbers," said Poloncarz in his presentation. "We want to keep the hospitalizations down."
Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein said masking is key in preventing the spread. "We know it's only going to get worse," said Burstein in saying much of the spread of COVID results from unmasked individuals.
Locations covered under these orders include, but are not limited to, bars and restaurants (staff and patrons who are not seated); grocery and all other stores; theatres (movie and live); barber shops/beauty parlors; gyms and fitness centers; entertainment venues (e.g., hockey rinks, bowling alleys) for both players and spectators; places of worship, including during prayer; and hotels, banks, all other places open to the public. Masks are strongly recommended for all other non-public work settings if social distancing cannot be maintained.
Venues that have strict vaccine requirements for entrance, such as Highmark Stadium and KeyBank Center, would not have to require masks for vaccinated individuals under these orders
Governor Kathy Hochul is in agreement with the measures, stating, "As part of our ongoing engagement with local leaders, I spoke with county executives yesterday from every region of the state to hear firsthand their plans to combat the Delta variant and pledge State resources and support to make vaccines and boosters even more widely available as we approach the holiday season."
Erie County, home to the city of Buffalo, recorded 456 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, more than quadruple the federal government's threshold for high transmission, according to Poloncarz.
“This is one of the largest seven-day periods we've ever seen,” Poloncarz said in a virtual briefing Monday.
Poloncarz said that cases among K-12 students and staff are rising and that 30-39 year-olds represent the most cases. He said COVID-19 hospital admissions have increased by 50% in the past two weeks.
Hospitals in Erie County reported 249 patients as of Sunday, up from 168 as of Nov. 7.
About 63% of residents in Erie County are fully vaccinated.
But rates are lower in southern and eastern parts of the county: including 38.4% in the 14034 ZIP code that includes Collins in southern Erie County.
The vast majority of the state’s 62 counties are seeing sharp upticks in new COVID-19 positives, from those on Long Island, to Niagara County in western New York.
And much of the state, from Saratoga to Erie County, is also seeing sharp increases in hospitalizations.
The county's reinstitution of its mask mandate follows Gov. Kathy Hochul's warning last week that a continued uptick in COVID-19 rates could mean New Yorkers will again face more virus protocols in high-risk communities.
But the governor hasn’t laid out any specific protocols that she could re-institute, including where or when they'd take effect.
Health care workers in New York had until Monday to get their first vaccine dose under a statewide mandate that has survived court challenges.
About 95% of health care workers had a completed vaccine series as of Nov. 17, according to state data.
Related
