A worker in a protective suit swabs a man’s throat for a COVID-19 test at a testing site in an office complex in Beijing, Friday, April 29, 2022. The World Health Organization on Thursday, May 5, 2022 is estimating that nearly 15 million people were killed either by the coronavirus or by its impact on overwhelmed health systems in the past two years, more than double the official death toll of 6 million.
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
New York City has officially moved down from high risk to medium risk of COVID-19.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced the change on Tuesday, June 21. COVID-19 cases in New York City are at 240.4 per 100,000 and hospitalizations have fallen to 9.8 per 100,000.
“Day after day, New Yorkers are stepping up and doing their part, and because of our collective efforts we are winning the fight against COVID-19. We’re grateful to New Yorkers for their continued attention and vigilance as we’ve made our way through to the other side of this wave, and, as a result, we’re pleased to announce that New York has fallen into the ‘medium’ risk category. This surge has taught us a lot about how the virus is currently behaving, and how to prepare for the coming weeks and months,” the statement reads.
So far this year DOHMH has provided more than 55,000 courses of Paxlovid through home delivery on top of the thousands of courses issued through medical providers. NYC Test + Trace has also distributed more than 16.5 million at-home tests to New Yorkers over the last month and over 33 million tests since January to help keep New Yorkers home when infected.
“Testing, vaccinations, treatments, and masking have been vital tools to keep people alive and out of the hospital. But we know there remains no greater defense against this virus than vaccination, which is why we’re pleased that young children are now eligible for the protection they deserve, and can’t wait to begin under-5 vaccination tomorrow,” the statement read.
