As health officials warn of rising Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations, New York’s mayor said the city will not reinstate mask mandates for the time being.
“I’m proud of what we’re doing and how we’re not letting Covid outsmart us,” Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference Wednesday, after being asked about reinstating a mandate, specifically in the city schools. “We stay prepared and we don’t panic.”
To make his case, Adams cited what he said were steady citywide hospitalization and death numbers, as well as COVID-19 testing in schools.
“The variants are going to come,” he said. “If each variant that arrives, we start thinking about closing, we start panicking, we are not going to function as a city.”
City officials said this week that New York City has reached the “high” alert level for COVID-19, indicating there is a high level of community spread and “substantial pressure on the health care system.” .” The city’s health department encouraged people to wear high-quality masks in all indoor public places and crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of known vaccination status.
New York is not the only place with high infection numbers. About 40% of Northeast residents are in counties considered to have high community levels, Citizen Free Press reported.
An environment of increasing risk
The mayor’s comments came on the same day New York Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan told Citizen Free Press that both infection and hospitalization numbers were rising in the city.
“We’re in an environment of increasing risk, but we have all kinds of tools to help keep us safe,” including vaccinations and boosters, frequent testing and treatment when needed, he said.
About 78% of city residents are fully vaccinated, and about 38% of them have received their extra dose, according to a city website.
Listen to the opinion of airline passengers about the mask 3:03Much of the city is vaccinated and the number of reinforcements is increasing, the commissioner said, adding: “We have a strong mask culture in this city … where people are taking those precautions in the subway and in closed places. “.
“So that’s what we’re asking New Yorkers to do now is to increase those activities and take those extra precautions,” he said. “We are no longer in an emergency situation even though we are still in this pandemic.”
Vasan said he believes the US is in a “transition” period from the pandemic and the latest spike in infection numbers won’t last long. However, he was concerned about “the effects of decreased immunity” and the possible variants for the fall.
“We’re preparing for any possible increase in the fall, but it’s too early to make any predictions. I think we can set ourselves up to have a really nice summer if we get through this bump. But I’m also thinking about the fall,” he said.
CDC chief urges Americans to wear masks against covid-19
About a third of US residents live in areas with medium or high community levels of Covid-19, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing on Wednesday.
The CDC director urged counties with high community levels of COVID-19 to encourage people to wear masks in closed public places to help prevent further infection and serious illness.
“Although cases remain much lower than during last winter’s omicron surge, the current seven-day daily average of cases now stands at about 94,000 cases per day, a national increase of approximately 26 percent. % from the previous week, and a threefold increase from the last month,” Walensky said.
Hospital admissions are also increasing, he added. Deaths have remained low, according to the CDC chief, but the seven-day average of daily deaths is still about 275 a day.