NYC reaches ‘high alert’ level for COVID-19 as cases, hospitalizations continue rising

New York City’s risk level for COVID-19 upgraded from medium to high on Tuesday, according to a bulletin from the city’s Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.

The announcement came a day after Vasan issued a new advisory about the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 New Yorkers since the pandemic emerged in early 2020. In the advisory, Vasan urges New Yorkers to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

But neither Tuesday's statement nor the advisory contained any new mandate for mask wearing or vaccination, but reiterated a “strong recommendation” for people to wear high-quality masks in public settings, both indoors and outdoors. Under a health department document issued in March and entitled “NYC COVID-19 Alert Levels and Recommended Actions,” the city government is advised to require face masks in all public indoor settings when its alert levels reach high.

This week’s advisory also said New Yorkers should “consider avoiding” high-risk settings such as crowded indoor events and that any gatherings should be limited in how many people attend. The health commissioner made a similar recommendation in early May, when the city moved from low to medium risk.

“As a city, we have the tools to blunt the impact of this wave, including distributing tests, masks and promoting treatments,” Vasan said in a statement on Tuesday. “Getting back to Low Risk depends on everyone doing their part and if we follow guidance, our forecasts anticipate this wave’s peak will not last long. What we do now can make all the difference.”

New York City’s alert scale is based on indicators determined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But while the CDC’s rubric goes from low to medium to high, the city’s metric has an additional tier of “very high” risk.

Under the CDC’s COVID Community levels, an area automatically moves from low to medium if it records more than 200 cases per 100,000 residents over the most recent seven days.

A region bumps from medium to high if it records an average of more than 10 new hospitalizations per 100,000 residents over a week — or if more than 10% of its hospital capacity is occupied by coronavirus patients.

According to the city health department, the five boroughs have crossed the CDC’s threshold for new hospital admissions but not the cutoff for hospital capacity.

When asked what would constitute a move from “high” to “very high” risk, health department spokesperson Patrick Gallahue said the transition would occur if the city has a high level as defined by the CDC, plus more than 90% of its acute care beds occupied.

When asked why the city hasn’t reinstated a mask requirement, Gallahue reiterated the points made by Commissioner Vasan about having the right tools, adding that “we’re responding to the wave we’re in.” 

On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams also announced a plan to increase the distribution of free at-home tests and high-quality masks at public schools and other cultural landmarks over the next month. The plan mimics a similar scale-up of at-home tests that was announced in early April, as COVID-19 cases began to trend upwards.

The city does not allow residents to send in their at-home results, meaning the current outbreak is larger than stated in official reports. According to official record-keeping, Staten Island is leading the city in case rates, followed closely by Manhattan and Queens. Brooklyn and the Bronx are bringing up the rear.

COVID-19 vaccination rates have hit a ceiling citywide, despite booster shots being the surest way to prevent severe consequences with omicron and its many subvariants.

New Yorkers can find information on testing and at-home delivery of treatments by visiting the hyperlinked websites or calling 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319). Information on vaccination is available here or at 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).

This story has been updated with additional information.