Mayor Eric Adams claimed Tuesday that New York City was winning against the Omicron surge. He pointed out that while the number of Omicron cases and hospitalizations are still very high, they have started to fall.
Adams encouraged New Yorkers not to stop getting vaccinated. He also recommended wearing masks.
“Let’s be clear on this — we are winning,” the mayor said at a news conference at City Hall. “We are going to win because we’re resilient.”
Adams, a Democrat who is in his third week of office, pointed out the decline in the number of cases per day, which has fallen to less than 20,000 from a peak peak of over 40,000. He also pointed to hospitalizations, which have dropped from a peak in citywide hospitalizations of approximately 6,500 on Jan. 11, to just 5,800 on Jan. 16.
Experts warn that New Yorkers should be cautious. Adams expressed optimism about the number of cases and encouraged workers to return work. According to city data, the number of cases is still much higher this winter than last winter’s average of 6,500 cases per day.
Many cases were not reported after the first coronavirus wave in 2020.
New deaths are a lagging indicator and have been increasing at an average of about 100 per hour in recent days. This is more than they have been since May 2020.
On Tuesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul also spotlighted the state’s declining case rate and hospitalization numbers. She stated that the virus positivity rate in the state was now at 12.8 percent, which is about half of what was reported on Jan. 2. “We hope to close the books on this winter surge soon,” she said.
Mr. Adams expressed pride in keeping public schools open and the fact that more students are returning to school after a month of absences. More than 75% of students were in school Friday, compared to 67% on the first day following the winter break.
Mr. Adams stated that 4.5 million students have received rapid home tests from the city so far. These tests have detected 25,000 cases.
Last week, Mr. Adams suggested that he might consider remote learning for schools. But David C. Banks (his schools chancellor) said that such an option was not likely and would be difficult to establish.
“It is a big undertaking, even to do it for a short period of time,” Mr. Banks said.
Mr. Adams stated that the city had reached a new milestone in vaccinations with 16 million doses administered. This includes 2.5 million booster doses. But the mayor said New York was still “nowhere near where we need to be” on its vaccination effort.
According to city data, 74% of New Yorkers and 47% of those aged 5-17 are fully vaccinated.
Omicron cases are rising in the northeastern United States. However, the number of Omicron patients is at an all-time high, and the number of them is increasing. This is overwhelming hospitals whose staff has been decimated by the virus. Dr. Vivek Muthy, the U.S. surgeon-general, warned on Sunday that the Omicron surge has not yet reached its peak nationally. He said that it would be difficult for many areas of the country in the coming weeks as deaths and hospitalizations rise.
“The challenge is that the entire country is not moving at the same pace,” he said.
Source: NY Times
