New York raised the COVID warning level to high on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the warning of the possibility, as the fifth pandemic wave, fueled by COVID’s most contagious sub-variants, is still tightening its grip on the subway and the nation.
The five districts have been in a “medium” state of alert for COVID since May 2, after crossing a critical threshold of infection – 200 new cases per day per 100,000 inhabitants for a continuous seven-day period. Upgrading to an “high” level of alarm means that the hospitalization rate at COVID is also reaching a key level – 10 new admissions per 100,000 residents on a continuous basis. Both are based on current CDC community guidelines.
At the time the health workers announced the change in average alert, the continuous hospitalization rate was 6.8 per 100,000 population, while the revolving rate of new cases was 218.22. Since then, both percentages have been steadily rising to 10.2 and 308.51.
By districts Staten Island (396.73) and Manhattan (352.43) increased the number of cases, with Queens (340.35), Brooklyn (293.53) and the Bronx (204.84) reported lower – but escalating in compared to previous days – the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In terms of hospitalizations, the Bronx Hunts Point zip code has the highest transmission rate at the moment – 50.1 hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants, city data shows, although the neighborhood still has the lowest transmission rate in the city.
The Queens Bayside and Manhattan zip codes from Hell’s Kitchen to the Upper East Side and Greenwich Village also show high levels of hospitalization, relatively speaking.
In particular, a significant proportion of hospital admissions designated as COVID-19 include people who were not admitted for this reason in the first place, which means that their diagnoses may never have been found if they had not sought treatment. for another, unrelated reason.
Distribution
These 10 zip codes have the highest levels of hospitalization in New York at the moment.
More than half of the people hospitalized with COVID across the state (52.5%) did not have a diagnosis as a reason for admission, according to state data. In New York, the share is even higher (56.7%). This means that COVID infections in more than half of the hospitalized patients in New York may not have been detected if nothing else deserved medical attention. And this, according to experts, is good news in terms of the severity of COVID.
It is time to return to the protocol that works, they say, without panicking.
“Now is the time to double the protection of ourselves and each other by making choices that can keep our friends, neighbors, relatives and colleagues from getting sick,” New York Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Wasan said in an announcement. of the transition.
“As a city, we have the tools to blunt the impact of this wave, including spreading tests, masks and promoting treatment,” he added. “The return to low risk depends on everyone fulfilling their role, and if we follow the guidelines, our forecasts predict that the peak of this wave will not last long. What we are doing now can make a difference.
Tuesday’s change is the second time this month – and the second time the city has improved its COVID warning status, although it debuted only as part of Mayor Eric Adams’ comprehensive pandemic plan when he took office earlier this year. year.
The switch does not automatically trigger new COVID commands. They will only be taken into account if the level of anxiety reaches “very high”, which is the highest of the four levels, health officials say.
However, the health department issued a new mask council on Monday, even before the official move to a high-level warning for COVID, urging all New Yorkers to disguise themselves indoors, regardless of current vaccination status.
In particular, residents are asked to use high-quality face masks – such as KN95 and KF94 masks and N95 respirators – when indoors and in public places, including grocery stores, building lobbies, offices, shops and other common areas where people can interact (think about toilets, corridors, meeting rooms).
The council is particularly urgent about face covers for people at high risk of serious illness and death from COVID, namely those over the age of 65 or who have not been vaccinated, say city health officials.
Anyone who does not qualify for vaccination due to age or any other reason is urged to avoid crowded places and insignificant gatherings, especially indoors.
The development comes as each of New York State’s 62 counties is poised to be considered a high- or mid-level COVID risk by the CDC in the agency’s next update. This should happen on Tuesday night.
The Bronx was the only county considered low-risk by the CDC in recent days, but at a rate of more than 200 new cases per day per 100,000 residents, the city said the change should be reflected on the CDC’s map in hours.
Ultimately, public health experts and officials agree that the infection rate alone means much less than hospitalization and death trends.
Despite the modest increase in pressure that hospitals are experiencing from this latest wave, the burden is scarce compared to that imposed earlier this year, during the peak of Omicron in January. This is an even smaller part of the one that threatened to destroy the health system of the whole country – and that of America – in April 2020.
And daily deaths, the other most important indicator of COVID in terms of public health, remain largely stable, if not steadily declining. This is partly a product of high levels of vaccination and community-based COVID tools, from face covers to communication, testing and treatment options like Paxlovid that you can use from home.
The transition to a high level of concern for COVID, officials say, is an aggressive, cautionary effort to ensure that a similar April 2020 scenario does not happen again in New York – never.
For now, the general message remains the same: Support yourself if you’re not, stay home if you’re sick, get tested regularly and wear face masks in crowded places, especially if you’re more susceptible to COVID infection or complications from the disease, officials say.
The same treatment is available on the same day, so talk to your doctor if you have a positive test or call (212) COVID-19 if you do not have a provider. Learn more about the next federal round of free COVID tests – each household gets up to eight – here.
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