COVID-19 infections continue to remain high across the city, but the number of cases are dropping sharply, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.
Adams relayed that the city has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country currently, with 16 million doses administered and at least 2.5 million booster shots. The mayor said that this indicated that citizens were doing their part in combating the virus, which in turn would help get NYC back on its pre-pandemic track.
“It is imperative that we show New Yorkers that we are coming back,” said Adams. “New Yorkers should be proud of themselves. It is because of this work that (…) you sent a clear message that vaccines are successful.”
Also reported was the city’s most recent seven-day average, which at 16,330 new cases was a decrease from the previous two weeks. Despite the drop in new cases in recent weeks, this number is still considered incredibly high, with the city itself still being categorized as a “highly transmissible” area.
Additionally, Mayor Adams urged everyone to go get their vaccination as those who are still unvaccinated remain eight times more likely to be hospitalized if infected.
“We still have work to do,” Adams said. “We’re nowhere near where we ought to be and we need to move even further to make sure that we get everyone boosted and vaccinated.”
Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, the city’s health commissioner, spoke to Omicron being the “most formidable variant yet” in addition to Mayor Adams’s six-point COVID-19 winter plan. The plan includes the private sector vaccine mandate introduced by former Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as improving COVID safety in shelters, jails and nursing homes among other steps.
“With these steps we are on the downslope of the Omicron summit,” said Chokshi. “But we still have work to do to reach the base. Our seven-day average of daily new cases is under 20,000. That’s less than half the peak of nearly 43,000 average new cases a day [reported] earlier in January.”
As more and more people get vaccinated, combined with people wearing masks and social distancing in public, the number of cases will hopefully continue to decrease, allowing the city to return to its normal.
“We have not won yet, but let’s be clear on this: we are winning,” said Adams.
