The pandemic, in a lot of ways, has fundamentally changed the way people interact and move. Monroe County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza joins Spectrum News anchor Jim Aroune to discuss some of the biggest risk factors for people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Dr. Mendoza, those biggest risk factors are traveling and gathering. When looking at the Northeast Rochester quadrant, Dr. Mendoza said there is more density in the area, and a greater number of gatherings, whether intentional or not.

“We know a significant number of our cases are travel-related. They are coming from other parts of the country where the prevalence is probably higher,” he said. “I look at this as a region, a community really, because at the end of the day our hospital system serves the region, and we have to be all in coordination across our region.

Currently, there are 34 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico on New York’s travel advisory list.

The situation across the country with the coronavirus is in stark contrast to New York, where the infection rate lingers at around less than one percent, the lowest in the country.

To make the list, states must currently have a COVID-19 positive rate higher than 10 per 100,000 people over a seven-day rolling average.

But how are those travel mandates impacting the infection rate in Monroe County? Dr. Mendoza said there are more people under quarantine because of the travel advisory.

As the number of states has grown, the denominator has increased. But the number of positive cases locally, generally, has decreased, he said.

“We are paying very close attention to these travel-related cases. We’re putting them under quarantine and all the usual precautions that we would for any contact,” Dr. Mendoza said. “But, the increasing numbers, the larger denominator is really what’s contributing to what appears to be a lower rate.”