NYC Enters ‘New Risk Level’, Says Health Department

New York City is raising its COVID risk level alert, amid rising cases citywide, NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced Monday, from ‘low risk’ to ‘medium risk’. The risk level change signals new recommendations, but no changes in regulation at this time.

The current threshold for entering the ‘medium risk’ alert level is a rate of 200 cases per 100,000, which NYC has just passed.  The Health Department has phased out its old metric for determining the severity of an outbreak by the percentage of positive vs. negative test results, in favor of how many infections are present for every 100,000 people. This change was determined by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

“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.” Dr. Vasan said. “If you are at a higher risk for severe disease due to age, underlying health conditions or because you are unvaccinated, consider additional precautions such as avoiding crowded indoor gatherings”.

On the Health Department’s chart depicting the differences between risk levels, this recommendation is accompanied with an upgrade in advice on masking in indoor areas where the vaccination status of those present is unknown. Previously, the Health Department told people to ‘consider’ wearing a mask in such situations, but in a state of ‘medium risk’, the Department now says that people should do so.

Hospitalizations and deaths citywide are still trending down, according to CDC data. According to the same agency, Manhattan and Staten Island are seeing higher spikes than the rest of the boroughs.

Once again, the Health Department urged NYers to get vaccinated and boosted.

“Vaccination and boosters are as critical as ever,” said Dr Vasan. “If you’re eligible for your booster, please, get the dose now. The coming weeks will be critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 and getting back to a Low risk level so we can more safely enjoy our spring”

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