Monroe County is one of five additional counties in Finger Lakes region that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has now classified as high COVID transmission zones.
The other local counties in include Yates, Steuben, Orleans and Ontario.
County health officials say two omicron subvariants are leading the increase in cases locally over the past month. The new variants spread approximately 25% faster than previous COVID-19 variants.
Across the region, 269 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.
As of Friday, health officials reported 393 new cases in Monroe County, bringing the average of new cases per day to 547.
Looking back to this time last month, the average was about 104 new cases per day. That's more than a 400% increase.
"This isn't surprising in any way," Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said. "We've been talking about this for days and weeks. The good news though is that we're not seeing that overwhelming sense is hospitals, and that's what makes this surge a little bit different from the previous surges that we've had."
Bello says there's constant communication between the hospital systems and the health department, and there isn't talk of bringing back mandates for now.
The CDC has issued the following guidance for counties with high community levels of COVID-19:
- Wear a mask indoors in public
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness