The Perfect Enemy | NYC approaching ‘high’ COVID alert level; Health official says wear masks inside

NYC approaching ‘high’ COVID alert level; Health official says wear masks inside – FOX 5 New York

NYC indoor masks

The NYC Health Commissioner is urging all New Yorkers to wear masks while indoors as the city approaches a high alert level for COVID.

NEW YORK – New York City is approaching a ‘high’ level of COVID-19 alert, according to Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.

In a tweet issued Monday morning, Vasan said he was urging all New Yorkers to wear a mask while indoors including grocery stores, buildings lobbies, offices, stores, and other common or shared spaces.

Raising the alert level from medium to high indicates an increased and significant level of community spread.

The decision is based on the number of cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, new admissions with COVID-19 per 100,000 people in the last seven days and percent of inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

1 million U.S. COVID deaths

Once unthinkable, the United States passed the grim milestone of one million COVID deaths on Thursday, and President Biden warned that the pandemic is not yet over.

Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app! | Sign up for FOX 5 email newsletters

Residents at high risk of severe illness including those age 65 and older and those unvaccinated should avoid crowded settings and limit gatherings.

As of Monday morning, Johns Hopkins University counted 999,607 COVID-related deaths in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,000,292 deaths.

COVID likely surging

COVID infections are rising but tracking the progress of the pandemic is increasingly hard because testing has dramatically dropped.

The New York State Department of Health announced Friday that people living in counties that are considered “high risk” for transmission of the coronavirus should return to wearing masks indoors as a surge of infections continues statewide.

“In accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we recommend that all New Yorkers in high-risk COVID-19 counties and all New Yorkers at-risk of severe disease wear a mask in public indoor places, regardless of vaccination status,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said in a statement. “These public health measures, as well as ensuring proper air ventilation when gathering, will help reduce COVID-19 transmission in communities and lower the risk of serious illness and hospitalization for individuals.”

The CDC has designated 45 counties in New York as high-risk, including Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, and Ulster counties.

Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island are all considered medium-risk counties, while Bronx County is the only county in the state considered low-risk.