TOLEDO, Ohio — By now, you've probably heard the news that the CDC is advising all Americans, regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not, to wear masks when in an area that has substantial or high levels of COVID-19 community transmission.
Well, how do you know if your community falls into this category?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a website that tracks and displays this for you. The CDC's COVID Data Tracker is updated daily at 8 p.m. and is searchable down to the county level.
There are four levels of community transmission:
- Low (blue)
- Moderate (yellow)
- Substantial (orange)
- High (red)
If a county is orange or red, it's advised that people in that area wear masks, the CDC says.
The data tracker website also provides information on the percentage of people vaccinated in your county and gives the seven-day averages for COVID-19 cases, deaths, positivity, tests conducted, hospital admissions, and beds used for both general COVID-19 admissions and in ICU.
Website visitors also can sign up for the CDC's Data Tracker Weekly Review.