The new Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus is what everyone around the country has been talking about in recent weeks and here in Western New York, we have seen a sharp increase in numbers once again.

That's led to speculation of new mask mandates being implemented by local and state governments, including here in New York.

The CDC created two new benchmarks for whether or not a county has a low, moderate, or high spread. The benchmark is a county's seven-day new case total, per every 100,000 people. If it reaches 50 new cases, it's considered "substantial" and the CDC, at that point, recommends everyone wears masks indoors.

Today, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that he expects the county will soon reach the substantial category of transmission, and therefore, have an indoor mask mandate once again, according to WGRZ.

UPDATE: Poloncarz later clarified and said that there is expected to soon be a Local Emergency Order, which would means everyone in country-owned buildings and facilities, regardless of vaccination status. At this time, there will not be a county-wide indoor mandated mask policy; although this would be revisited if numbers increase drastically.

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The recent numbers for Erie County haven't been good.

44 new cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days, according to Poloncarz, which means that Erie County is on track to reach the substantial category, which could be by the end of the week (50 new cases per 100k over seven days).

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