Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that as the Delta variant spreads like wildfire throughout the state and more COVID-19 cases are being reported, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stopped short of calling for a statewide mask mandate on Aug. 2. Instead, he urged private businesses to mandate vaccinations for customers and employees and warned that soon private health care workers, teachers, and nursing home workers may also face vaccination mandates. "I don't believe a mask policy will be enough," Cuomo said at a news conference Aug. 2. "I think we will have to talk about a vaccination policy." Locally, Greene, Albany, Columbia, and Rensselaer counties have all surpassed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threshold for encouraging mask wearing indoors, regardless of vaccination status. "If the numbers don't come down, I think you have to consider mandatory vaccines for nursing home workers," Cuomo said, adding the same may be true for teachers and front-facing health care workers. "These are the places where one person can infect literally dozens in the course of a day," he said. And things could get worse. "I worry that even more dangerous variants — including vaccine-resistant ones — could emerge if uncontrolled spread continues," tweeted Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the CDC and commissioner of the New York City health department. Read more about this story in the Times Union.