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As we ring in the new year many of us are vowing to partake in Dry January, spend more time working out in the gym, and staying healthy overall, but unfortunately a winter COVID surge may be throwing a wrench in some of those plans.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from Sunday, December 17th through Saturday, December 23rd, more than 29,000 patients were admitted to hospitals with Covid-19, about 15,000 with the flu, and thousands more with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
And as COVID cases continue to rise across not only the city but the nation as a whole (as a new variant called JN.1 takes hold), NYC public hospitals have reinstated a mask mandate.
According to amNY, a spokesperson for NYC Health & Hospitals (H&H) stated that masks are once again required “at all of its clinical facilities, including 11 public hospitals, community-based clinics, and nursing homes.”
“The policy went in effect just after Christmas. As we’ve seen an increase in COVID, flu, and RSV this is really to protect our patients, staff, and the community. It applies to clinical settings such as our hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes,” H&H spokesperson Chris Miller told amNY.
According to citywide data, COVID cases and hospitalization rates have been steadily climbing, with numbers showing an average of 1,402 total cases daily and an average of 50 daily hospitalizations.
NYC’s hardest-hit neighborhoods include East New York in Brooklyn, Mott Haven/Port Morris in the Bronx, and Silver Lake/St. George on Staten Island.
However, amNY points out that the numbers may actually be significantly higher than recorded as many people opt for at-home testing.
Either way, the news doesn’t come as much as a surprise to us as respiratory illnesses typically tend to peak in the fall and winter. Additionally, back in September of 2023, the CDC warned of another “tripledemic”—a time when flu, RSV, and COVID cases all rise at once.
As of now, additional private hospitals are holding off on implementing a mask mandate.
You can keep up to date with the latest NYC COVID data here.