NEW: New York City will make mask wearing optional for children younger than 5 if COVID-19 case rates remain low over the next two weeks, Mayor Adams said Tuesday.
But the following day, the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, seemed to contradict the mayor, saying that mask mandates for children under 5 could remain in place “indefinitely.”“We're getting a large number of parents that are saying, 'Please don't take the mask off at school.’” he said. “So the only way you do it right is to follow the science and follow the numbers and that is what we're doing.
Following the press conference, Vasan told Gothamist he expected that masks could come off for those under 5 as long as the city stayed within the low community spread or “green” category, although he was reluctant to link any one policy to a particular level. “I know that people are really thinking carefully about cases, but it's also about hospital capacity and bed occupancy,” Vasan said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and her health officials acknowledged the small uptick in cases on Monday, but said they didn’t expect a steep surge like the ones seen in the U.K. or Europe. They noted that cases were down dramatically compared to the January surge and that hospitalizations are still relatively low.
“We are not in alarmist mode," she said. "We are not panicking over this. We're just watching the numbers."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Why doctors are struggling to treat COVID patients with pills, the future of COVID aid, and more COVID newsSenior administration officials say congress should provide the $22.5 billion President Joe Biden wants for continuing the battle against COVID-19 without cutting other programs to pay for it. Here's that and more virus news.
Read more »
Mayor Eric Adams imposes new fire safety rules in New York CityMore than two months after the tragic Bronx high-rise fire that killed more than two dozen people, Mayor Adams has signed an executive order that creates new fire safety rules in the city. LisaRoznerTV reports.
Read more »
COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations plummet across New YorkDeaths from COVID-19 fell to the single digits in New York and hospitalizations hit the lowest number since Aug. 3, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday.
Read more »
Health Experts Predict Uptick in U.S. Covid Cases Due to New BA.2 VariantOfficials say the new BA.2 Covid variant is about 50% to 60% more transmissible than omicron, but it does not appear to be more severe.
Read more »
Grim milestone: New York approaches 70,000 COVID deathsThe US Centers for Disease Control reported 69,967 deaths in the Empire State as of March 18, 2022.
Read more »