The nonprofit health network, which operates Saranac Lake’s Adirondack Medical Center, Lake Placid’s Health and Medical Fitness Center and a nursing home in Tupper Lake, announced the change on Thursday, aligning its policies with guidance from the state Department of Health.

Individual hospitals and health systems can set their own testing requirements in regions of New York state with positivity rates lower than 2%, according to a news release from Adirondack Health. However, the North Country regional positivity rate has increased to 2.4%, as of Wednesday, meaning the hospital was required to change its testing rules.

In most cases, patients’ insurance providers should cover COVID-19 testing if they’re sick and get a doctor’s order. Otherwise, patients will be responsible for the cost of any test performed, as well as any associated co-pays or deductibles, if they don’t have a specific doctor’s order, according to Adirondack Health.

AMC’s COVID clinic is still open. Drive-up testing — both PCR and antibody tests — is available there every day between 8 and 11 a.m. Testing is also available noon to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Appointments and preregistrations are still required. To schedule a COVID-19 test, call AMC’s COVID clinic at 518-897-2462.

This change in testing guidance comes a few days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance asking even those who are vaccinated to wear masks indoors in areas where there is a high level of community spread, meaning a high number of cases where the source of a person’s infection is unknown.

The CDC’s guidance change was based on the results of a new study that revealed new information about the transmissibility of the Delta variant, which is now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the U.S.

New research has shown that those who are vaccinated and subsequently infected with the Delta variant may be just as contagious as unvaccinated people, even if they don’t experience any symptoms, The New York Times reported last week. This contradicts earlier studies, which showed that vaccinated people who were infected with previous strains of the virus — not the Delta variant — were largely unable to infect others, according to the Times.

The vast majority of new coronavirus infections are among unvaccinated people. It’s rare for vaccinated people to get “breakthrough” infections, but when it happens, the vaccines largely prevent serious illness, according to the Associated Press.

The number of new cases of COVID-19 found each day locally, and across the country, has been rising over the past few weeks. The CDC has recommended people, even those who are vaccinated, wear masks indoors in areas with a substantial or high level of community spread. Last week, Essex County had “moderate” community spread and Franklin County, “low” spread; this week, both counties had “moderate” spread, according to the CDC.

There were 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Essex County and 11 in Franklin County as of Thursday, according to the respective health departments.