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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday that all the counties in Connecticut and Massachusetts are the sites of high or substantial transmission of COVID-19.
The rise of transmission in the two states mirrors a nationwide and regional trend.
Some health authorities are recommending that vaccinated people go back to wearing masks indoors in areas of high or substantial transmission. That includes almost all of New England.
The CDC reported that every county in the six-state region was the site of high or substantial transmission on Sunday except Orange County, Vermont, and Kennebec County, Maine.
In Connecticut, New London, New Haven, Middlesex and Hartford counties were the site of high transmission and the other four counties in the state were listed in the substantial category. In Massachusetts, Suffolk, Nantucket, Dukes, Plymouth, Bristol, Essex, Hampden and Berkshire counties were the site of high transmission and the other six counties in the state were substantial.
Associated Industries of Massachusetts, one of the state’s largest business groups, called for state leaders to impose Massachusetts-wide mask requirements, limits on gatherings in “dangerous situations” and guidance for businesses to operate safely.
“A core duty and primary function of any government is to protect the public’s health and safety. The pandemic highlights the need for governments to take their duties seriously. Our elected officials should provide leadership driven by science and evidence, not partisan politics,” the group said in a statement issued last week. “Leaving public health decisions to private businesses is not the right answer.”
New England continues to pace the nation in COVID-19 vaccine use, and Massachusetts is close to Vermont for the highest rate in the region.
About 74 percent of Massachusetts has had a first dose of vaccine. Only Vermont is higher at 75 percent. All six states are above 65 percent. The nationwide number if a little less than 60 percent.
The New England states and Hawaii continue to have some of the highest vaccination rates in the country.
