Saratoga County Public Health Services Issues Advisory Recommending Masking Up

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County Public Health Services (SCPHS) issued an advisory on Aug. 7 recommending that all individuals—fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated–wear a mask when indoors with people who are not members of their own household, outdoors in crowded settings, and when engaging in activities that involve close contact with others who are not fully vaccinated. 

SCPHS also said it recommends vaccination for those who are eligible to do so. 

The announcement comes as Saratoga County is experiencing a high level of COVID-19 community transmission, fueled by the spread of the highly contagious B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant. 

According to the state Department of Health, the weekly average positivity rate of Saratoga County residents who had gotten tested for COVID-19 was 4.6% through Aug. 9 – a positivity rate among the highest in the state.    

Since June 6, approximately 40% of reported cases in the county have been identified in individuals ages 18-39; an additional 10% of reported cases have occurred among those ages 6-11 years. While hospitalizations during this time have not increased to levels observed during January 2021, approximately 89% of hospitalized individuals were not fully vaccinated, the department said. 

To date, only 0.007% of fully vaccinated county residents have been hospitalized due to COVID disease. Similarly, of the 169 COVID-19 related deaths reported to SCPHS, 99.4% occurred in individuals who were not fully vaccinated. 

Just over 70% of all county residents and 80% of vaccine-eligible county residents have received at least one dose of vaccine. “This level of vaccine coverage has prevented a surge in severe COVID-19 disease and hospitalizations in our community,” the release said. It also cited masking as providing protection from COVID-19 to the wearer; If the wearer is infected, masking helps prevent transmission to others.