The new masking requirements follow rising rates of Covid-19 across New York City. During the week leading up to Christmas Day, the city health department recorded an average of 1,400 daily Covid cases — up from around 900 daily cases at the beginning of December. An average of 50 people have been hospitalized for Covid in the city each day as of Dec. 25, the most recent data available.
Covid hospitalizations have increased statewide as well. There were more than 3,400 people hospitalized with Covid in New York as of Jan. 2 — more than double the hospitalizations reported at the beginning of last month.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, New York City health commissioner, said on NY1 Wednesday that Covid, flu and RSV has been up in recent weeks, although RSV cases have started trending downward. Vasan said that putting masks back on in specific settings, such as hospitals, “makes a lot of sense.”
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"It's not inevitable that we’re all just going to get sick,” Vasan said in a statement to Crain’s. “We're all more observant of symptoms in the post-emergency Covid era, but we also have a lot of tools to keep ourselves and each other safe."
The city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends that people wear a mask in crowded indoor settings, as well as if they have a high risk of getting severely ill from Covid. The health department also recommends getting an updated Covid-19 and flu shot.
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This story first appeared in Crain's New York Business.
