Mask mandates reinstated at NYC public hospitals
NEW YORK CITY - Mask mandates are reinstated at all 11 New York City hospitals as flu, RSV and COVID cases rise, according to NYC Health and Hospitals.
The mandate also applies to all community health centers and nursing homes.
The policy went into effect just after Christmas, NYC Health and Hospitals confirmed.
The CDC is reporting elevated and increasing levels of flu-like illnesses in most areas of the country.
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New York City is seeing a very high level of flu, according to recent CDC data.
(CDC)
The CDC estimates that there have been at least 7.1 million illnesses, 73,000 hospitalizations and 4,500 deaths from flu so far this season.
NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said hospitals are hitting their peak levels for COVID, flu and RSV cases.
The CDC said during the week before Christmas, 29,000 people were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19, 15,000 with the flu and thousands more with RSV.
Those numbers are only expected to go up.
"What we want to say to New Yorkers is, it's not inevitable, it's not just like we're all going to get sick. There are steps we can take," Dr. Ashwin Vasan said.
The CDC recommends that everyone six months and older get an annual flu vaccine as long as influenza viruses are spreading.
It's not too late to get vaccines, and it can still benefit everyone.
For more information on how to protect yourself from the flu, COVID and RSV click here.