Covid-19 cases still rising, prompting mask-wearing inside Highmark Stadium

Statistics released this week by Erie County show rapidly growing case numbers for four straight weeks, as well as rising hospitalizations since the end of July. 

On the upside, the number of cases serious enough to warrant admission to intensive care has not risen at a corresponding rate, suggesting that vaccinations are helping to keep life-threatening illnesses at bay. The number of people needing airway assistance has been creeping upward, however, though the numbers remain in single digits. Three Covid-19 related deaths were reported over the past week.

The week-over-week growth has seen double-digit percentage growth with 650 people testing positive last week, based on the latest weekly report from the county Health Department. This weekly total represents the highest number of new cases since mid-May and a 23% increase in cases over the previous week.

The Health Department announced Wednesday that as of July 31, anyone entering an Erie County building is required to wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status. This requirement extends to concourses, restrooms and other enclosed spaces at Highmark Stadium, which is a county-owned building. This would apply to concertgoers, staff and vendors attending the Billy Joel concert scheduled for Saturday.

Wednesday night, the Bills released a statement confirming masking details. The team clarified the mask policy will affect fans seated in suites and the indoor club level, but not for those with outdoor seats, or anyone tailgating in stadium lots.

"If you are fully vaccinated, masks will not be required in the outdoor areas of the stadium," the team said. 

The first game scheduled for Highmark Stadium is the Bills' final preseason matchup on Aug. 28, vs. Green Bay.

While the number of confirmed weekly cases is still reasonably low compared with January when the county might confirm that many new cases in a single day, the trajectory is troubling as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread the coronavirus. The number of new positive cases also compares poorly with mid-July when the weekly count of new cases hovered in the 40s. 

As has been the consistent pattern since vaccines were made widely available, local residents in their 20s and 30s comprise the largest segment of new cases. The county Health Department's epidemiology unit is monitoring positive cases among those under the age of 18, where positive cases increasingly represent a disproportionate percentage of that age group.

Total Covid-19 related deaths as of last week were 1,933, with 657 of those deaths reported this year. Of the nearly 200 deaths reported since April, 94% involved individuals who were not fully vaccinated prior to infection.

Breakthrough cases of infection among the vaccinated are occurring, however. County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that based on hospital reports, roughly a third of patients being treated for Covid-19 had been previously vaccinated.

"Based on reports from the hospitals, on Aug. 8, approximately 66% of all COVID patients were unvaccinated," Poloncarz said in a tweet Wednesday. "Some vaccinated patients presented with COVID symptoms, others with other matters (broken leg, etc.) and COVID was determined by a test at the time of admission."

Health experts have noted that vaccines do not prevent the possibility of infection, but are designed to minimize the likelihood of serious illness.

Erie County vaccination levels are proceeding at a slow pace with 72.6% of county adults having received at least one dose of the vaccine. The county Health Department has been unable to provide data showing whether vaccinations in recent weeks have seen an uptick as fall approaches, compared with previous weeks.

Vaccination levels still vary considerably by age group, with vaccination rates at high as 92% for those ages 65 to 74, and as low as 47% for the youngest vaccine recipients ages 12 to 15, from whom Pfizer is the only available vaccine.

All Buffalo ZIP codes have now reached vaccination levels above 50%, counting all residents who have received at least a single dose of the vaccine. Only half a dozen communities, all in rural areas, still have less than half their residents vaccinated with at least one dose.