This Tuesday, March 1, the calendar marks just the second year of the appearance of the first case of COVID-19 in New York, which since the alert for the pandemic was declared, the lives of more than 4551 have ended in the Big Apple ,000 people, a large part of them Latinos, and has left almost 2.5 million infections.
And although the City Health authorities and the State have insisted that the coronavirus has not yet been completely defeated, the overwhelming decline in infection rates and the increase in people vaccinated in New York, have helped to relax security protocols such as not wearing masks in interior spaces and the requirement to show proof of vaccination in businesses, which will end on Monday, March 7.
Al dominoes of c Changes this week and the next few days, adds the end of the mandate for the use of masks in closed spaces in schools in the state of New York, announced by Governor Kathy Hochul and that will take effect from Wednesday, and that, Most likely, Mayor Eric Adams will follow when he announces his decision this Friday.
The contagion index of the last 7 days in the Big Apple, estimated at 1. 99%, nail 30 hospitalizations and 582 New Yorkers testing positive every day, they are a long way from those moments in January when, due to the omicron variant, there were even 85,000 infections every 12 hours, so Mayor Adams defends the new COVID prevention protocols. Also, the 59% of New Yorkers with at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, on 77% fully vaccinated, and only the 14% without getting immunized, play as variables in favor.
“New Yorkers stepped forward and helped us save lives by reaching unprecedented levels of vaccination,” said the local president. “New York City numbers continue to drop day after day, so as long as the COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we don’t see any surprises this week, on Monday March 7th we will also lift the ‘Key2NYC’ requirements. . This will give business owners time to adjust and allow us to ensure that we are making the best public health decisions for the people of New York.”
Masks in schools will be optional
Despite the changes in sight, the Mayor stressed that if there are no unforeseen spikes this week, when the mandate for the use of masks in interiors for public school children, will leave masks available for any child or school staff member who wishes to continue wearing them.
It should be noted that until the Mayor formally issues a statement that lifts the mandate for the use of face masks indoors, both students and teachers and members of the school staff of the 1,700 educational establishments, they must continue to wear masks in closed rooms.
“All other vaccine mandates in the c New York City will remain in effect at this time, as they are and have been vital to protecting New Yorkers,” Adams added, referring to regulations such as requiring municipal employees and private companies to have their COVID vaccines in order to continue in their jobs. jobs, the use of masks on trains and buses, prisons and nursing homes.
Opinions divided among New Yorkers
But beyond the data on infections, which faithfully testify to a turnaround in the behavior of COVID in the Big Apple, and the encouraging outlook that seemed to show light at the end of the tunnel, after two years of the harsh effects of the pandemic, some New Yorkers like Miriam Arrieta still do not agree with making prevention protocols more flexible, and even less so among children.
“I am very scared that what happened in December will happen again, when many of us already thought that COVID was ending and ómicron came and caused so much terror among us, since it was not that deadly, ”said the Colombian mother.
“I think that before taking measures such as removing masks, at least a year of low infections should pass, because just a month and a half I think it is something irresponsible and it scares me that the cases”, he added.
A similar position is held by the Chilean Roberto Tordecillas, who stressed that his main concern is that a false idea is generated that there is no longer any risk with the COVID.
“I do not agree with these measures, because it is risky, since the virus is still around, and there are people getting it. The use of the mask should be maintained and proof of vaccination should be required to enter places to keep the situation under control,” said the young engineer.
Tordecillas emphasized: “When things relax, the progress we’ve made can be slowed down, so I think it’s a bad move to relax and give the impression that everything is normal when it isn’t. New York is not yet ready to take these measures, because although the cases are going down, they could go up at any moment.”
Others, such as the Peruvian Rodrigo Maceta, on the contrary, support the mayor’s measures Adams and Governor Hochul, and they assure that it is time to jump to the next step.
“Ómicron was the gold standard that showed that COVID no longer attacks us so much, because we are vaccinated. We cannot spend our whole lives imprisoned by a mask and show proof of the vaccine wherever we are going. This is the time to do it, because as happens with all viruses, they weaken,” said the father of the family.
Doubtful Ombudsman
The ombudsman Jumaane Williams stated that a pandemic requires risk assessment and the gradual elimination of some measures, while returning to a new normality, and was doubtful about the relaxation of measures in coming days.
“Decisions to lift security measures that have helped protect New Yorkers amid new waves and new variants should be guided by science, not the calendar Williams said. “Given my continued concerns about removing mask-wearing requirements in schools before properly assessing any increase in spread after the winter break, I am relieved the Mayor is taking the time to account for this risk sooner. to follow the Governor in changing policy, and I urge you to provide clarity.”
The Ombudsman also mentioned having other concerns such as ventilation in schools, disparities in vaccination rates and funding school in different communities.
“The City must address these problems to ensure that all students in all neighborhoods are safe“, said the Ombudsman, who does not see with good eyes that all the restrictions are eliminated at the same time, because he feels that some mistakes that the City and the State have made in the last two years may be repeated.
“It would be Necessary and unwise to quickly eliminate vaccine screening requirements in restaurants and other places in the city simultaneously. Removing multiple layers of protection at once by removing mask and vaccine requirements now compounds complications and risks, especially with existing vaccine discrepancies,” the official added.
Catholic academies and Parish schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens, have said they will allow face coverings to be an individual choice for school staff and students. But, they highlighted that New York City-funded Pre-K-3 and Pre-K-4 (UPK) programs must continue to wear masks, as required by the Department of Education.
“We respect all teachers, staff, and parents who have differing opinions, and we understand the concern on both sides of the issue. No individual, faculty, staff or student will be discouraged from wearing a mask at school and they will continue to be a recommended mitigation strategy,” they said in a statement.
COVID in numbers in NYC
- 1.99% is the average number of COVID infections for the last 7 days in NYC.
- 3.59% is the average number of infections in the last month.
- 582 Daily infections on average have been recorded in the last week.
- 527 cases are confirmed cases.
- 69 are probable cases.
- 12 people died last day in NYC.
- 18 daily hospitalizations for COVID have been recorded on average.
- two,530 of vaccinated New Yorkers infected with COVID died, which equates to 1%
- 8,4032 unvaccinated New Yorkers died of COVID.
- 18,527 Vaccinated New Yorkers have been hospitalized.
- 38,343 unvaccinated New Yorkers have been hospitalized.4032