Nearly two dozen counties in upstate New York are now considered in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's high level category for spread of COVID-19 — that's up from just 10 counties more than a week ago.

What You Need To Know

  • Many upstate New York counties are now in the "high" level for COVID-19
  • Health officials say hospitalizations and deaths have not increased rapidly with the recent rise in cases
  • Niagara County's public health director urges people to be vaccinated and use masks when necessary 

In the Western New York region, Erie and Niagara counties fall under that designation, based on a weekly average for new cases and hospitalizations per 100,000 residents.

"Communities opened up and we have no restrictions. We knew that the numbers would probably increase a little bit,” said Niagara County Public Health Director Daniel Stapleton. “We've had probably a few months where the numbers have been extremely low, but now we're starting to see a little bit of an uptick.”

Health officials say two new subvariants of the virus that spread about 25% faster than other variants are leading to the rise in cases. 

Stapleton is not surprised given the relaxing of many mask mandates and more people out doing things in the community. 

Perhaps some good news, though: hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have not dramatically increased in recent weeks while cases have gone up. 

Stapleton points to data in other parts of the world where it appears the latest round of illnesses aren't as severe. 

"They're seeing that that new variant, although it transmits fairly rapidly, the death rate and hospitalizations are not increasing as they had back when we were dealing with other variants," Stapleton said.

For people in high risk areas, the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors in public spaces. Stapleton adds getting vaccinated and boosted is also important. 

"The common sense approaches of washing your hands, staying out of large crowds, wearing a mask when you're not feeling well — those things still remain true," Stapleton said.

He also recommends staying home if you're sick and getting tested are also key to slowing down the spread and staying healthy. 

Erie County recently launched a "test to treat" program in which eligible, symptomatic people who've had a positive COVID-19 test from county testing sites can get a prescription antiviral medication to reduce the risk of serious illness.