RICHMOND, Va. — There is more good news for many Virginians. There are even more localities in the Commonwealth where healthy people can safely take a break from wearing masks, according to the latest weekly update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The update comes as new cases in Virginia dropped 20% last week and 72.2% of Virginians are fully vaccinated against the virus. Nationally, COVID cases are down 28.5% from the week before, according to the CDC.
The CDC released an updated map Thursday, March 10 with county-by-county color designations to indicate whether residents should wear masks or not.
"There are three levels (low, medium, high), which are determined by looking at hospital beds being used by patients with COVID-19, new hospital admissions among people with COVID-19, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in your area," CDC officials wrote.
The majority of Metro Richmond is now ranked as low, but Dinwiddie, Emporia, Hopewell, Louisa, Petersburg and Powhatan are ranked medium.
People in those areas (low, medium) can stop wearing masks for now unless they are at high risk for severe illness.
However, 23 localities, many in southwestern Virginia, are ranked as high where masking indoors is still recommended by the CDC. Prince George is the only Central Virginia locality ranked high after ticking up from medium last week.
The CDC's new measures, which were announced Friday, Feb. 25, focus less on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals.
The agency is still advising that people, including schoolchildren, wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high.
Additionally, the new recommendations don’t change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation.
High Community Level
- Wear a mask indoors in public
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- Additional precautions may be needed for people at high risk for severe illness
- 23 Virginia localities this week; down from 38 localities last week
Alleghany
Amherst
Appomattox
Bath
Botetourt
Bristol
Buchanan
Campbell
Covington
Dickenson
Lee
Lexington
Lynchburg
Madison
Norton
Prince George
Roanoke County
Russell
Scott
Smyth
Tazewell
Washington
Wise
Medium Community Level
- If you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- 45 Virginia localities this week; up from 32 localities last week
Albemarle
Augusta
Bedford
Bland
Buckingham
Buena Vista
Carroll
Charlotte
Charlottesville
Craig
Culpeper
Cumberland
Danville
Dinwiddie
Emporia
Floyd
Fluvanna
Franklin
Galax
Giles
Grayson
Greene
Halifax
Highland
Hopewell
Louisa
Lunenburg
Mecklenburg
Montgomery
Nelson
Orange
Petersburg
Pittsylvania
Powhatan
Pulaski
Radford
Rappahannock
Roanoke City
Rockbridge
Salem
Staunton
Surry
Sussex
Waynesboro
Wythe
Low Community Level
- Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines
- Get tested if you have symptoms
- 65 Virginia localities this week; up from 61 localities last week
Accomack
Alexandria
Amelia
Arlington
Brunswick
Caroline
Charles City
Chesapeake
Chesterfield
Clarke
Colonial Heights
Essex
Fairfax City
Fairfax County
Falls Church
Fauquier
Franklin
Frederick
Fredericksburg
Gloucester
Goochland
Greensville
Hampton
Hanover
Harrisonburg
Henrico
Henry
Isle of Wight
James City
King and Queen
King George
King William
Lancaster
Loudoun
Manassas
Manassas Park
Martinsville
Mathews
Middlesex
New Kent
Newport News
Norfolk
Northampton
Northumberland
Nottoway
Page
Patrick
Poquoson
Portsmouth
Prince Edward
Prince William
Richmond City
Richmond County
Rockingham
Shenandoah
Southampton
Spotsylvania
Stafford
Suffolk
Virginia Beach
Warren
Westmoreland
Williamsburg
Winchester
York
RELATED: County-by-county look at COVID-19 cases in Virginia; which areas saw most cases last week
Full Virginia City/County-by-County Breakdown
Accomack Low
Albemarle Medium
Alexandria Low
Alleghany High
Amelia Low
Amherst High
Appomattox High
Arlington Low
Augusta Medium
Bath High
Bedford Medium
Bland Medium
Botetourt High
Bristol High
Brunswick Low
Buchanan High
Buckingham Medium
Buena Vista Medium
Campbell High
Caroline Low
Carroll Medium
Charles City Low
Charlotte Medium
Charlottesville Medium
Chesapeake Low
Chesterfield Low
Clarke Low
Colonial Heights Low
Covington High
Craig Medium
Culpeper Medium
Cumberland Medium
Danville Medium
Dickenson High
Dinwiddie Medium
Emporia Medium
Essex Low
Fairfax City Low
Fairfax County Low
Falls Church Low
Fauquier Low
Floyd Medium
Fluvanna Medium
Franklin Low
Franklin Medium
Frederick Low
Fredericksburg Low
Galax Medium
Giles Medium
Gloucester Low
Goochland Low
Grayson Medium
Greene Medium
Greensville Low
Halifax Medium
Hampton Low
Hanover Low
Harrisonburg Low
Henrico Low
Henry Low
Highland Medium
Hopewell Medium
Isle of Wight Low
James City Low
King and Queen Low
King George Low
King William Low
Lancaster Low
Lee High
Lexington High
Loudoun Low
Louisa Medium
Lunenburg Medium
Lynchburg High
Madison High
Manassas Low
Manassas Park Low
Martinsville Low
Mathews Low
Mecklenburg Medium
Middlesex Low
Montgomery Medium
Nelson Medium
New Kent Low
Newport News Low
Norfolk Low
Northampton Low
Northumberland Low
Norton High
Nottoway Low
Orange Medium
Page Low
Patrick Low
Petersburg Medium
Pittsylvania Medium
Poquoson Low
Portsmouth Low
Powhatan Medium
Prince Edward Low
Prince George High
Prince William Low
Pulaski Medium
Radford Medium
Rappahannock Medium
Richmond City Low
Richmond County Low
Roanoke City Medium
Roanoke County High
Rockbridge Medium
Rockingham Low
Russell High
Salem Medium
Scott High
Shenandoah Low
Smyth High
Southampton Low
Spotsylvania Low
Stafford Low
Staunton Medium
Suffolk Low
Surry Medium
Sussex Medium
Tazewell High
Virginia Beach Low
Warren Low
Washington High
Waynesboro Medium
Westmoreland Low
Williamsburg Low
Winchester Low
Wise High
Wythe Medium
York Low
Virginians age 5+ are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. Go to Vaccine Finderto search for specific vaccines available near you or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-275-8343).
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for the most complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?
People are considered fully vaccinated:
- 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
- 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
How to Protect Yourself and Others When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions—like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces—in public places until we know more.
These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.
Click here for more information from the Virginia Department of Health.