Mask

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.

Broome County is improving on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 risk map.

The CDC has released a new COVID-19 map that is offering guidance as to where people may be able to safely un-mask and the news isn't good for Broome County.

Following the announcement from New York Governor Hochul that the state would drop its indoor mask mandate, Wegmans has updated it policy for shoppers.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar predicts it will be a couple of months before Broome is back to new COVID-19 infection rates in the single digits.

While numbers are showing some improvement, health officials are warning residents not to let their guard down and that includes proper masking.

Health Commissioner Mary Bassett says there will no longer be contact tracing required of local health departments in order to focus on vaccination and testing.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar confirms the local hospitals are getting near the level where the State Health Department limit some surgeries.

Any Broome County resident who has gotten their complete COVID-19 vaccine get a booster under new Centers for Disease Control recommendations.

Those who watch the local pandemic numbers every day are noticing the overall case count is starting to go down after an alarming spike over the summer.