New York City officials announced that the state has moved to “high” COVID-19 alert levels as infected cases and hospitalizations begin to rise.
The city’s health ministry move Tuesday morning, health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced that it is time to “double up” the containment measures against Covid.
The change comes a day after city officials issued a statement advising all New Yorkers over the age of two to wear masks indoors in public, but they did not announce it would be mandatory.
Covid cases in the Big Apple are increasing, averaging 4,000 cases per day, a 50% increase in the last two weeks. Authorities also report a 28% increase in hospitalizations and a 19% increase in deaths.
Data released last week shows that half of the patients were actually being treated for another condition and tested positive while there.
Covid cases in New York City are starting to rise again, but Micron has nowhere hit its peak variant.
Hospitalizations for COVID in New York have risen slightly in recent weeks after bottoming out in late April
Despite the increasing number of Covid-related cases and hospitalizations, deaths in New York have remained minimal.
“New York City has moved to a high level of COVID alert, which means now is the time to protect ourselves and others by making choices that can prevent our friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues from getting sick,” Vasan said. Said. excitement†
Health officials are advising residents to take precautions such as getting vaccinated, wearing masks in public and crowded open spaces, holding meetings in limited numbers, avoiding high-risk activities, and even staying home when they feel sick.
“Now is the time to protect ourselves and others,” said Ashwin Vasan (pictured).
Authorities on Monday also announced that they will distribute millions of Covid tests and masks to contain the spread of the virus.
“As a city, we have the tools to mitigate this wave, including testing, distributing masks and promoting treatments,” Vasan continued on Twitter.
“The return to low risk will depend on everyone doing their part, and if we follow the guidelines, our predictions will not be long before the peak of this wave. What we do now can make a difference.
At the council released Monday, officials said all residents over the age of two must now wear face masks in enclosed public spaces. He added that people over the age of 65, immunocompromised or unvaccinated should also consider wearing blankets outside and avoid crowded environments.
In any case, it’s the third Democrat-led city to recommend the reuse of masks in all indoor environments, after Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
New York City has the fifth largest Covid outbreak in the country at 363 cases per 100,000 people and is the epicenter of the emergence of an even more contagious version of Omicron, scientifically named BA.2.12.1.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Connecticut all have higher Covid rates than New York City. None of them hid their masks indoors anymore.
According to state data, less than half of Covid patients in New York City were hospitalized with the virus. According to statistics, this figure has remained below 50 percent since the beginning of February.
The above shows the cases of Covid in different states. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Hawaii, and Connecticut all have higher infection rates than New York City, but we do not recommend returning the mask at this stage.
New York City went to a “moderate” Covid alert level last week.
That didn’t change the rules – masks are still mandatory on public transport – but officials have warned that if you go to a high alert level, mass will be mandatory again in all inland areas and restrictions will be placed on transport gatherings.
This is activated when 20 hospitalizations per 100,000 people are reached, or if more than 15 percent of hospital beds are occupied by Covid patients.
Currently, the number of hospital admissions is approximately 9.8, while the share of beds occupied by Covid patients is 4.14. Both stand up.
The number of Covid deaths in the city is currently around 0.4 per 100,000, below the level recorded at the beginning of March.
Dr. Denis Nash, a public health expert at the City University of New York, told DailyMail.com that it is “important” to get the masks back now.
“There’s been a pretty significant increase over the past few weeks,” he said.
“There hasn’t been a huge spike in hospital admissions yet and deaths are pretty high, but given the magnitude of the wave that’s happening right now, we wish we’d taken action much sooner if it really led to more hospital admissions.”
When asked if face masks should be made mandatory right now, he added, “I think it should be done, but I think it’s a very political accusation and politicians are afraid to go because of the backlash they get.”
Vasan advised New Yorkers to wear face masks again today, tweeting, “Today I am issuing a Commissioner’s recommendation urging all New Yorkers to wear face masks indoors.
New York is approaching a “high” level of Covid alert, representing high dispersion in society [of the virus]†
But he added, “We don’t expect this wave to last much longer, so wait a minute New York City.
“If we all do our part, we can reduce the number of cases in the coming weeks and prepare for a great summer,” he said.
They also plan to distribute 16 million domestic Covid tests for free from more than 100 centers across the city.
Other Democratic-led cities that recommend people wear face masks indoors were Los Angeles and Philadelphia, where the rule has been in effect since March.
Philadelphia became the first state to bring back face masks in the US last month, but reversed the rule just four days after it was implemented, citing “low hospitalization rates.”
They changed the flooring to “highly recommend”.
Recently, democratically governed states have moved between the lines in masks, taking different approaches to when to impose masks.
That’s a 19% increase from 73,000 seven days ago, with states now averaging 87,000 cases per day as cases nationwide continue to rise.
But the number of Covid deaths has dropped by about a third in a week, to about 374 per day compared to last summer’s levels.
Data from New York City today revealed that of the 670 patients marked as infected on Friday, just over two-fifths — or 43.7 percent — were hospitalized for the disease.
The rest went to wards for other ailments, such as a broken leg, but were later discovered to be infected.
He suggests that most “Covid” patients in US hospitals are no longer essentially people suffering from the disease. However, Columbia University epidemiologist Dr. Experts, including Jessica Justman, warned that these cases still continue to strain the hospital system.
The percentage of Covid patients hospitalized for the virus has increased in recent weeks from a low of 35% at the end of April, but is now less than half in more than three months. Since the beginning of March, less than 100 Covid patients are in intensive care, the most serious.
Underlying every case in the United States, Omicron is much milder than previous variants, making it less likely to cause serious illness.
Scientists, including in a JAMA Network Open study, found that about 40 percent of infections are asymptomatic or cause no symptoms.
Justman told DailyMail.com: “I don’t think the city needs to raise the threshold” [for activating a high Covid alert level]†
“The CDC hospital admission threshold should be considered along with other indicators to assess transmission in the community.”
He noted the CDC’s guidance on Covid alert levels, which states that the current number of Covid hospitalizations reflects the pressure on hospitals “regardless of the cause of hospital care.”
Dr. Denis Nash, a public health expert at the City University of New York, agrees that warnings that the city could reach a high Covid alert level are not exaggerated.
He told DailyMail.com: “NYC wants to be in a place where we can handle the massive increases in SARS-CoV-2 transmission like we’re experiencing right now, without the accompanying spikes in hospitalizations and deaths.
“But the truth is we don’t know if we’re there and we may not know until it’s too late.
“So I think it makes sense for our health commissioner to consider this and other steps to help reduce risk for New Yorkers.”
Source: Daily Mail
I am Anne Johnson and I work as an author at the Fashion Vibes. My main area of expertise is beauty related news, but I also have experience in covering other types of stories like entertainment, lifestyle, and health topics. With my years of experience in writing for various publications, I have built strong relationships with many industry insiders. My passion for journalism has enabled me to stay on top of the latest trends and changes in the world of beauty.
