Health officials urge New Yorkers to wear masks again and visit Test to Treat clinics as COVID cases rise

NEW YORK — The Centers for Disease Regulate and Prevention says COVID is a issue in New York Town.

All five boroughs have a “substantial” community amount and that’s prompting area well being officers to advocate New Yorkers wear masks again, CBS2’s Dave Carlin documented Friday. 

COVID cases surged and New York City’s health and fitness division took to Twitter, producing, “To assist sluggish the unfold, all New Yorkers should dress in a superior-good quality mask, these as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor configurations and all over crowds outside the house.”

The town is up to a 15.4 p.c positivity amount. But heading back to donning masks may be a hard provide. 

“We continue to sell masks each individual working day,” reported Michal Rubio, a pharmacist at Bowen Pharmacy. “There will be a divide. There will be some resistance and there will be some men and women stick to alongside.” 

Research shows COVID variant BA.5 appears to be much more transmissible than before strains and considerably extra vaccine-resistant, but infectious disease medical professional Dr. Waleed Javaid, with Mount Sinai Wellbeing System, says the vaccine does nonetheless assist.

“The efficacy could possibly be reduce in conditions of protecting against an infection, but it may possibly, it is even now very excellent, especially the boosters, nevertheless really good in avoiding critical disease and demise … We continue to go on to see unvaccinated having admitted, and it actually hurts to see that,” Javaid stated.

Look at Dave Carlin’s report


Health officials urge New Yorkers to wear masks as COVID cases increase

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Hospitals show up to be keeping steady for now.

“We have witnessed increases over the final various months of rates of folks that have COVID that are in our clinic, but really several of them are in the intensive care unit and it has not led to a important disruption of our medical center functions at this level,” said Dr. David Hirschwerk, medical director at North Shore College Healthcare facility. “The idea of donning masks when the costs get substantial is a realistic one, but I fully realize that there will be lots of that are pissed off and you should not want to do that.”

Javaid claims, having said that, when we see an boost exterior the hospital, that won’t get reflected inside of the healthcare facility for a number of months, so we have nevertheless to see the possible impact of Fourth of July gatherings.

Sean Geoghan received swabbed at a van in Inwood on Friday, one of the city’s new mobile “Test to Take care of” clinics, a to start with of its type in the region.

“My spouse in fact analyzed beneficial a couple times back, so I’m remaining actually, actually mindful and just getting examined as usually as I can,” he told CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis.

Browse Far more: Paxlovid will be now supplied at sure cell COVID tests units in New York City

Nurse practitioner Andrea Rivers phone calls it a “community answer,” describing that inside 10 minutes, you can get analyzed for COVID and, if you examination constructive, treated with anti-viral medication at no value.

“This is where we prescribe the treatment Paxlovid. We do it electronically. It goes listed here to Inwood Pharmacy,” Rivers said.

In accordance to test and trace corps, 12 {7b6cc35713332e03d34197859d8d439e4802eb556451407ffda280a51e3c41ac} of people examined at cellular models have been connected to Paxlovid considering the fact that the program’s launch previous week.

Proper now, there are 10 cellular models citywide. The initiative will increase to 30 by the finish of the thirty day period.

“It really is fast treatment. It can be speedy prescription drugs that can assist with minimizing the severity and the mortality of COVID,” Rivers reported.

Mayor Eric Adams said the metropolis ended the colour-coded COVID system due to the fact it didn’t in shape with the city’s strategies, including how it addresses new subvariants.