Dramatic COVID-19 Spike Prompts City To Renew Mask Advice

NEW YORK CITY — A dramatic spike in COVID-19 positivity across New York City prompted health officials to reiterate long-standing masking advice Friday.

Positivity on a seven-day average topped 15 percent this week for the first time since Jan. 19, data shows.

The city has seen average positivity rise every day since June 16, when it stood at 7.53 percent, according to data.

As coronavirus levels reached months-long highs Friday, city health officials sent a tweet effectively reminding New Yorkers of existing masking recommendations that have stood for months.

"To help slow the spread, all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside," the city's health department tweeted.

The latest surge comes as a new variant — BA.5 — has become the dominant strain in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BA. 5 appears particularly capable of evading immunity from past infections and vaccines, the New York Times reported.

The variant's arrival comes as officials scrapped the city's color-coded COVID alert system, a decision that Mayor Eric Adams defended Thursday.

"The color coded system was not fitting the new wave and the new variant, and as COVID continued to shift," he said.

Adams said the city's hospitalizations and deaths remain at a "good, stable place" even as numbers tick up.

Health officials have recommended for months that New Yorkers wear masks in all public indoor spaces and outdoors in crowds. They recommend that New Yorkers wear a N95, KN95 or KF94 mask for the most protection against the coronavirus.

We're currently seeing high levels of COVID-19 in NYC. To help slow the spread, all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside: https://t.co/B6U7bSKPVV pic.twitter.com/Z1Pgt0nAPU
— nychealthy (@nycHealthy) July 8, 2022