City’s alert level moves up from “low” to “medium.”
QUICK FACTS:
- COVID-19 cases are on the rise in New York City, as the metropolis enters a higher risk level for the virus on Monday, The New York Times (NYT) reports.
- NYC is now seeing nearly 2,500 new cases per day, a spike from about 600 daily cases in March.
- As of Monday morning, cases had “surpassed a rate of 200 per 100,000 people,” warranting a “new risk alert level,” Dr. Ashwin Vasan, an epidemiologist serving as the 44th commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said in a statement.
- The latest rise is reportedly fueled by the highly contagious Omicron subvariant known as BA.2.
- The city moved from “low,” or green, into the “medium,” or yellow, risk category for virus transmission.
- 6,510,439 New York City residents, or 78.1% of the population, are considered fully vaccinated, according to NYC Health, while 7,248,959 residents (87%) have received at least one dose.
- Despite New York’s high vaccination rate, the state is now home to 37 of the 54 U.S. counties the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says have the highest levels of community transmission.
HOSPITALIZATIONS & DEATHS STILL LOW:
- New York City Mayor Adams emphasized that hospitalizations and deaths remain low, according to NYT.
- There are currently more than 50 new hospitalizations and four or five deaths on average in the city each day.
- That’s compared to January, when new hospitalizations rose to 1,000 per day, and deaths to more than 120 per day.
BACKGROUND:
- NYC’s increased alert status could trigger the return of public health restrictions.
- “I’m going to be wearing my mask forever. This is the new style now,” Manhattan resident Kevin Barnard said.
