DANVILLE, Pa. — The CDC said people living in areas with substantial or high transmission rates of COVID-19 should once again mask up when they are indoors even if they are vaccinated.
Doctors at Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale said they have seen patients who are vaccinated getting sick.
"They're not as sick, they are not being hospitalized but they are symptomatic. I think the big thing is you can get COVID even if you've been vaccinated," said Dr. James Cruse, Medical Director of Wayne Memorial Community Health Center.
Under this new guidance, the CDC also said kindergarten through 12th-grade students and teachers should go back to wearing masks in the classroom.
Shawna Parrotte of Washingtonville has school-age children. She agreed with the latest guidance.
"I had COVID in November and I was 28 weeks pregnant with my daughter and I ended up in the ICU. I really don' have a problem with the mask update," said Parrotte.
The state Department of Health told Newswatch 16 it is not considering reinstating a state-wide mask mandate but it recommends follow CDC guidance.
"This past year we've had a good demonstration that when there's masks in school, the kids do fairly well in school," said Vic Marks, a parent of students in the Danville area.
According to the CDC, the only counties in our area that have a substantial or high spread, which would prompt people to wear masks indoors, are Monroe and Wyoming counties.
Health professionals still suggest people living in counties with lower transmission rates also wear masks, but they emphasize the importance of getting the shot most.
"Really vaccinating everyone in the community, not just aiming for 60% or 70% but aiming for everybody in the community who is vaccinated is the way we're going to prevent an even more aggressive strain," said Dr. Cruse.
Pennsylvania is seeing an increase in cases.
The state reported 886 new cases on Tuesday.
That's up from this time last month when there were just 104 reported new cases.