Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The mask mandate for public spaces in Erie County continues as County Executive Mark Poloncarz again sounds the alarm that conditions in the next week may lead to additional restrictions as part of a four tiered COVID response plan being followed by the county.
"If these rates continue to worsen, we may not be able to control the further spread of COVID-9 in our community," stated Poloncarz during a Tuesday afternoon briefing.
For the week ending ovember 27, Poloncarz says the overall county COVID positivity rate was 9.9 percent. The positivity rate for all age groups was above 8 percent and for children under the age of 18, the rate was 27 percent according to Poloncarz.
Among the municipalities with the highest rate of COVID positive cases are Boston, Lancaster, Springville, Eden and Alden.
Poloncarz said the situation would be reassessed December 13 or earlier if necessary and a decision on whether to advance to phase two of the county's plan would be based on hospitalization data.
Hospitalizations in Erie County are up 65 percent in the past two weeks with inpatient capacities just shy of 90 percent and ICU occupancy just below that at 86.7 percent.
"We are very worried about a spike in new cases following the Thanksgiving holiday," noted Poloncarz.
Beyond a mask mandate, Poloncarz has indicated he will consider implementing the deeper phases of his plan which include a vaccine mandate, capacity restrictions and shutdowns.