Twin Tiers Clear to Remain Mask-Less Under New COVID Advisory

Leading national health officials are saying COVID-19 guidelines, many of which were put into place at the start of the pandemic, can be relaxed as a majority of people have some degree of immunity from vaccines or being exposed to the coronavirus in one or more of its variants.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who are exposed to someone with COVID no longer need to quarantine and people no longer need to social distance.

More than two-and-a-half years after the start of the pandemic, the CDC says they recognized around 95 percent of Americans aged 16 and older have at least some sort of immunity by now and conditions are very different from what they were in the Spring of 2020.

Authorities do still recommend face masks be worn in areas where community transmission is listed as high or if a person is at high risk due to underlying health issues, for a negative outcome from getting COVID-19.

Right now, the latest CDC community transmission map lists Broome and Tioga Counties as MEDIUM transmission risk while Chenango, Cortland, Delaware and Tompkins Counties are listed LOW.  In Pennsylvania, Bradford, Susquehanna and Wayne Counties in the Northern Tier are all listed as MEDIUM transmission risk.

The guidelines and recommendations released yesterday also say the test-to-stay and daily testing of students and staff in schools can be dropped.

There still can be state and even local requirements pertaining to COVID-19, which many health officials concede is “here to stay” but can be managed.  For example, health care facilities for the most part require people to wear masks.

There has been no update on COVID guidelines published on New York State Department of Health sites.