Area COVID-19 Cases Grow; City Issues New Mask Rules
With the Delta Variant making inroads in Otsego County, businesses, government entities, and public venues are starting to reconsider mask usage on their properties. Otsego County has recently been upgraded to "Substantial Transmission Status." The City of Oneonta is no different.
Here is an announcement from Oneonta's Mayor, Gary Herzig regarding the new COVID-19 mask regulations:
"Due to the recent rapid increase in new cases of COVID 19 in our local area, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has placed Otsego County on the list of counties with Substantial Transmission of the COVID virus. It is believed that most, if not all, of these cases are a result of the fast-spreading Delta variant of the virus.
While most cases have been found in unvaccinated persons, some “breakthrough” cases have been found in vaccinated persons as well. Per the CDC, what is new about the Delta variant is the ability of vaccinated individuals to carry and spread the virus. However, vaccinated individuals continue to have very high levels of protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death.
Consistent with current CDC guidelines, the Otsego County Department of Health has recommended that all persons wear a mask in all public indoor environments.
Therefore, to maintain the safety of city staff and the public, the City of Oneonta is requiring all visitors to city buildings to wear a mask at all times. As protectors of public health, all city staff will be required to wear masks while on duty unless they are alone in their office, vehicle, or workspace. These regulations will become effective on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at 8:00 am. While we are all weary of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, wearing a mask at work and around friends and family helps to prevent the most vulnerable of them from becoming infected and helps stop the pandemic. The safest and most effective way to put the COVID virus and these restrictions behind us is to reduce the current pool of unvaccinated persons in our county. We urge all eligible persons who have not yet become vaccinated to do so now."
All of us at Townsquare Media hope that this new mask measure will assist in either stopping the spread of the new variant or at least slow its spread. Please visit our site in the future for more COVID updates.
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