NYC elevates to ‘high’ COVID-19 alert level, indoor masks urged

Health officials in New York have said that there is high community spread of Covid, and pressure on the health care system is increasing.

“New York City has transitioned to a high COVID alert level, meaning now is the time to double down on protecting ourselves and each other by making choices that can keep our friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers from getting sick,” Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.

“As a city, we have the tools to blunt the impact of this wave, including distributing tests, masks and promoting treatments. Getting back to Low Risk depends on everyone doing their part and if we follow guidance, our forecasts anticipate this wave’s peak will not last long. What we do now can make all the difference.”

A City Hall press release issued Monday morning that includes information on mask and test distribution efforts notes that they come as the municipal “prepares to potentially hit a high-alert level in the coming days.”

The announcement comes exactly two weeks after health officials raised New York’s  alert level from “low” to “medium” as cases climbed and had crossed the threshold of a rate of 200 cases per 100,000 people. 

After the May 2 elevation, when the seven-day average positivity rate in the five boroughs was 7.17%, the figure increased to 8.03% eight days later, according to the most recent city data available. That expected heightened alert came after the positivity rate soared from just over a 1% positivity rate at the beginning of March to over 6% by the end of April. 

But from May 2 to May 10, coronavirus-induced hospitalizations declined from a 71-person weekly average to 54 as deaths remained static, the health department stats show.

According to color-coded coronavirus alert level guidelines, if the five boroughs exits the “medium” COVID risk classification and enter “high” the Department of Health advises New Yorkers to “wear a face mask in all indoor public settings and crowded outdoor spaces” rather than just enclosed settings “where vaccine status is not known.”

The Department of Education also sent a letter to families, recommending that all public school students 2 and older wear a mask.

“We recommend that everyone age 2 and older wear a well-fitting mask in all public indoor settings, including at school and early childhood education (ECE) programs, even if not required,” the letter read. “Encourage your child to wear a mask while at school or ECE program and when gathering with friends. Your child’s school has masks available.”

Officials also urged everyone 5 and older to get vaccinated and a booster when eligible.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams insisted on Monday that the city is not yet ready to reinstate its indoor mask mandate. “We’re not at that point yet,” he said. “We’re not at the point of doing anything other than urging New Yorkers while you’re indoors in large set-in social settings. We’re not going to panic. We’re going to continue to be prepared.”

Adams went onto say that New York is in a different place to when the virus started spreading in 2020.

“We now have the antivirals, we didn’t have that before,” he said. “We have more tools, so we don’t have to fight the war we had before. This is a new war. And we’re going to use all those tools to do so.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she continues to work with federal and state officials to ensure the state is prepared for any sort of surge that could appear in the months ahead.

“At the state level, we will continue to make sure these tools are available to all New Yorkers as we work together to move safely forward through this pandemic,” she said.