The new Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus is being blamed for many new cases over recent weeks around the country, including New York State.

According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, hospitalizations have basically doubled over the last month and on Sunday, 2.68 percent of tests came back positive. There were nine fatalities across the state.

Cuomo held a press conference on Monday morning and gave an update on the current situation in the state.

Cuomo once again suggested that private businesses in New York State "incentivize" vaccination by only allowing those who are vaccinated to enter their business.

This isn't the first time Cuomo has asked or suggested private businesses do this. Last week, he urged it as well; as he and New York State attempt to get more of the public vaccinated. As of now, 75 percent of eligible New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

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Cuomo added that if the numbers do not come down, then mandatory vaccines for teachers and public-facing healthcare workers should be on the table.

Here in Erie County, we have reached the CDC's substantial risk of community transmission, which means all county-owned buildings will now have mask mandates as of this past Saturday (July 31st), regardless of vaccination status.

Both the Erie County Department of Health and CDC are recommending private businesses require masks indoors, but that decision is up to them.

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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