Columbia University re-implements mask duty after Covid cases on campus quadruple

While Philly has been criticized for doing the same despite being a low-risk area, Columbia University is bringing masks back into the classroom amid a surge in Covid cases among its student population.

The elite college, based on New York’s Upper West Side, announced the move Sunday, citing a recent string of positive cases. From Monday, students are required to wear non-woven face masks in classrooms regardless of their vaccination status.

Cases in the student population quadrupled to 133 in the week ending April 10, from just 30 the previous week, according to data from the school’s Covid dashboard.

For now, the task only covers classes and it is unknown whether the scope can be extended if the number of cases continues to increase.

Just two hours south of the I-95 corridor, the city of Philadelphia has reinstated closed masking authority in a bizarre and much-criticised move for a state that records nearly 150 Covid cases a day.

Philadelphia has an average of 149 Covid cases per day as of the last update on Monday. The state will resume its mandate for indoor masks on April 18

“Continuous vigilance remains extremely important, particularly in domestic social settings where the vaccination status of participants is unknown or uncertain,” said Donna Lynne, Covid director at Columbia, in a statement.

Barnard College, a women’s college also on the Upper West Side that partners with the Ivy League school, reinstated its concealment mandate last week amid rising cases.

Columbia lifted the masking order on March 14, just as the rest of the state began dropping masks after Omicron’s winter wave.

According to official Covid guidelines, the recent increase in cases has led to the school’s “yellow” risk category.

The increase in cases occurred mainly among unaffected staff and purely school students.

Last week, 133 of the 136 cases were among students – only three remained among staff and faculty. Since January, the number of staff and faculties has not been kept more than ten in a week.

Covid cases have not reached this level since the end of January, when the Omicron winter wave that hit the country finally started to decrease.

Most of the cases recorded this spring were in early January, and the school recorded a total of 510 cases, with 376 among students and 134 among staff and teachers.

Columbia University revoked its on-campus face masks authorization on March 14 due to declining cases, but has now reduced it for classrooms as cases begin to rise again.

Columbia isn’t the first Ivy League school to receive a post-Omicron wave of Covid.

Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, recorded a 421% increase in cases in late March, reaching more than 170 people a day at its peak.

However, the school managed to weather the wave with minimal intervention and daily numbers were back to normal by mid-April.

The increases at Columbia University also come as New York City as a whole is facing a recent increase in the number of cases that officials are not concerned about when reviewing.

According to a New York Times database, the Big Apple is recording 1,964 cases per day, an increase of 55% in the last two weeks, but relatively well below the average of 40,000 cases at the peak of the Omicron variant.

However, a return to Covid restrictions seems unlikely, as Mayor Eric Adams lifted the city’s controversial vaccine and mask order last month.

But the powers of the masks returned to nearby Philadelphia.

The City of Brotherly Love will restore mask mandates for all closed public places such as schools, businesses, restaurants and government buildings from next Monday, officials said this week.

That’s because the number of cases rose 86% last week to 149 a day, a very low total for a city of over 1.5 million. The city also reports only about 40 hospitalizations linked to the virus.

City officials report that these numbers exceed certain thresholds that have triggered the reintroduction of such measures, but some leading health professionals and even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines – disagree with the fact that masquerade permits are now required. in the city.

Philadelphia Public Health said on Twitter on Monday that the city will now enforce “Level 2: Mask Precautions,” as invoked by the density of recent cases.

“Philadelphia’s COVID-19 response levels allow us to be open, transparent and predictable in our response to local conditions,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. Said. chirp†

“Given the increase in the number of cases, we will move to level 2 on April 18 to avoid higher ranks.”

However, case numbers are not considered a reliable criterion by many federal officials when assessing the status of the pandemic.

The CDC changed its statistics earlier this year, and now makes admissions more important than anything when it comes to recommending mask orders for certain populations.

According to the agency, Philadelphia County, which includes the city, is one of 95% of counties considered to be at “low” Covid risk, and masks are not recommended to be worn indoors.

“Philadelphia restores mask authority in light of escalation” [Covid 19] cases,” said CNN contributor Dr. Lena Wen. chirp†

“However, the CDC clearly shows Philadelphia in the green or low community” [COVID 19] risk. While there are readily available and effective vaccines, why don’t we move from case counting to the most appropriate treatment in the hospital?

However, some local experts understand the rationale behind the decision.

“I’m sure people like to spend their summer with their friends and family. The temporary reintroduction of restrictions could help alleviate a worsening situation when fall comes,” Daniel Rodriguez, a professor of public health at La Salle University in Philadelphia, told DailyMail.com.