CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The CDC considers six counties local to the Capital Region to have a substantial level of community transmission of COVID-19.

Health officials say even fully vaccinated people should mask up indoors in these areas that are reporting more than 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days.

As of Aug. 2, those counties are:

  • Albany
  • Schenectady
  • Saratoga
  • Schoharie
  • Columbia
  • Rensselaer

The Capital Region still has highest 7-day average positivity rate in the state, sitting at 3.5%. This is the highest it’s been since the beginning of February.

Counties in orange on the CDC’s map are considered to have “substantial level” of COVID-19 community transmission.

Albany County Health Commissioner Dr. Elizabeth Whalen said the county has been responding to CDC guidance from the start.

“Over 62% of Albany County residents are fully vaccinated and we continue to encourage county residents who have not yet been vaccinated to do so. Data continues to show vaccination decreases the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. We encourage people to follow the CDC guidelines and we will continue to evaluate the data and respond appropriately,” said Dr. Whalen.

While Greene County was the only upstate county to meet the metric last week, they’ve now dropped to moderate level of community transmission.

State officials have not yet decided to adopt or enforce this CDC mask guidance statewide.