Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz is clarifying his statement that the indoor mask mandate could be back by the end of the week.
Poloncarz on Wednesday morning told the Erie County Industrial Development Agency the return of masks would happen soon, but later walked that back.
"While Erie County is not currently in the CDC's 'substantial risk of community transmission' category... if the county should enter such category, effective the following day, masks must be worn in all county owned buildings," Poloncarz tweeted. "We are not mandating an indoor mask requirement for non-county owned buildings if the county should enter the 'substantial risk of community transmission' category. However, we HIGHLY recommend all building owners follow CDC guidance and require such a mandate."
Based on July 27's results, Erie County is currently at the 'moderate' risk level with 43.9 new cases per 100,000 new residents for the prior seven days. In comparison, just one week ago the county was at 20 new cases per 100,000 new residents for the prior seven days.
The county will enter the 'substantial' risk of community transmission category if we are at anywhere from 50 to 99 cases per 100,000 new residents for a seven-day period. The county will enter the 'high' risk of community transmission category if we exceed 100 or more cases per 100,000 new residents for a seven-day period.






