(John Ransom, Headline USA) The New York City Health Commissioner is saying that the city will be moving its COVID status from “low risk” to “medium risk” next week as the number of cases is on the rise.
“In the next few days, likely by early next week, we’re going to be entering a new level of risk, moving from a low-risk environment to a medium-risk environment on the basis of cases,” Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city’s Health Commissioner told New York 1.
That means that New York could start putting masks on again.
Vasan has told New Yorkers to start using masks especially indoors, as the variants are now spreading faster, according to the New York Post.
Chicago has already promised to follow suit if their cases tick-up, with mandatory masking again in public schools and public buildings.
“If and when we get back to a medium risk, that is when, for example, CDPH would be recommending masks in indoor public settings,” said Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, according to the local NBC news affiliate.
“I would expect we would see Chicago Public Schools, for example, make a decision to go back to a mask requirement,” Arwady added.
Despite studies showing that masking has been ineffective in preventing the transmission of the COVID virus, New York’s public health officials still insist on their website that masking is critical to preventing the spread of the disease.
“A face covering is critical to stopping the spread of COVID-19,” said the citywide COVID portal.
Currently, New York City has a complex web of rules and regulations that govern masking, where masking is mandatory in subways and most Broadway shows, but optional in public schools, except for students under the age of five years-old, who can’t be vaccinated, and for whom masking is mandatory, said the New York Times.
