New York City is headed toward a “high” risk designation for COVID-19 transmission — even as hospitalizations and deaths remain relatively low, city officials announced Monday.
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 the Big Apple’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.”
“High” risk also means that city residents are advised to “limit gatherings to small numbers.”
The “recommended actions for government” column of the Health Department’s coronavirus criterion also includes imposing a mask mandate in public indoor settings. But when New York City earlier in May was placed on a “medium” alert level, Mayor Eric Adams opted not to restore the “Key to NYC” indoor venue vaccine requirement that he lifted in March, despite the chart instructing the city to “consider” doing so.
In response to the continued uptick in cases, city agencies will in the next month distribute 16.5 million more at-home COVID-19 test kits and 1 million high-quality masks at locations like public schools, 1,000 community organizations, libraries, places of worship and politicians’ offices, City Hall’s press office revealed Monday.
Mayor Eric Adams told reporters at a separate event at City College in Harlem Monday that he’s not planning on reinstating any coronavirus-related regulations.
“We’re not at a point of mandating masks. We’re not at that point yet. We’re not at the point of doing anything other than urging New Yorkers, while you’re indoors in large settings, social settings, wear your masks,” the mayor said.
“We have more tools, so we don’t have to fight the war we had before this war, and we’re going to use those tools to do so,” he added, citing increased vaccination and booster rates compared to last year.
He also said hospitals are not “going through the state of emergency” experienced at the height of the pandemic, when officials worried that virus-related cases could overwhelm the healthcare system.
Gov. Kathy Hochul also recently signaled she does not favor adding back pandemic-related restrictions as cases rise.
“At-home tests and masks provide reliable and convenient ways for New Yorkers to confidently and safely protect themselves and others and allow them to enjoy our city,” Adams said in a press release.
Officials said New Yorkers have so far been given 20 million free at-home tests via city government initiatives.
“I encourage all New Yorkers to go out and pick up a free at-home test as soon as they can to remain prepared, to mask up in indoor public settings, and to take advantage of the life-saving treatments we now have readily available to fight this virus,” the mayor added.
“These combined tools not only are a blessing that we previously did not have access to, but also will allow us to combat this disease in the future, instead of in the past.”
The city’s top doctor urged all New Yorkers regardless of vaccination or health status to wear face coverings while indoors.
“Regular home testing and wearing masks indoors, especially while cases rise, is the best way to keep yourself, those around you, and your community safe,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan in the press release. “I advise all New Yorkers to mask up indoors, even if you have a negative test and especially if you are unvaccinated, have not had your booster, or are in a high-risk category.”
He added, “We don’t anticipate that this wave will last much longer, so hang in there, New York City.”
The most recent city data shows that 78.3% of New Yorkers of all ages are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and that 87.9% of adults have received at least two shots — rates that have barely budged in recent weeks. Just over 87% of of city residents of all ages have received at least one shot, while just 38% have received a booster shot, according to health department data.
As both deaths and hospitalizations have decreased, city and state elected officials have recently removed several coronavirus-related regulations— including the “Key to NYC” program, mask mandates for students eligible to get the shots and the state’s office mask mandate.
But the city’s municipal worker and private-sector mandatory vaccine regulations remain in effect, as does the face-covering requirement for children under 5 years old while in day care facilities and public schools.
Earlier in May, the city Health Department axed the outdoor mask requirement for young children and teachers while on public school property like playgrounds.
