NYC Raises COVID Alert Level to Medium

May 2, 2022

With the Omicron subvariant pushing up COVID-19 case numbers, New York City on Monday raised its COVID alert stage from low to medium, that means some public well being guidelines may very well be reimposed.

The danger stage was raised as a result of town is now averaging greater than 200 every day new instances per 100,000 folks, metropolis Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, MD, stated Monday at a information convention, in response toThe New York Post.

“With COVID-19 cases rising, NYC has entered the Medium risk alert level,” he stated. “As a practical matter, what this means for New Yorkers is that they must exercise even greater caution than they have the last few weeks.”

The change to medium danger stage doesn’t routinely set off the reimposition of security restrictions. Mayor Eric Adams must determine whether or not to do this.

As of April 29, town was recording 209.2 new COVID instances and 6.7 hospitalizations per 100,000 folks, with 2.89% of hospital beds occupied by COVID sufferers, in response to town COVID web site.

The metropolis has been averaging 2,489 every day new instances over the past week, a giant bounce from the 600 every day new instances from early March, The New York Times reported. But hospitalizations and deaths are down barely over the past month.

The metropolis moved into the low, or inexperienced, danger class in early March as case counts dropped. The change meant that face masks weren’t required in colleges and folks didn’t have to point out proof of vaccination to enter eating places, bars, museums, and different indoor locations. City officers hailed the loosening of restrictions as proof town was coming again to life.

The medium or yellow stage implies that folks ought to “consider” carrying face masks indoors in public locations and “upgrade to higher-quality masks, including KN95, KF94, N95, or a cloth mask on top of a surgical mask.”

About 88% of adults within the metropolis are absolutely vaccinated, however a a lot decrease stage of youngsters are vaccinated, The Times stated.