NYC health bureaucrats say masking up is ‘a good idea’ for everyone

In preparation for Labor Day weekend, New York City officials are telling residents that it is a "good idea" to wear a mask in crowded indoor areas to combat new variants of the COVID-19 virus.  

A NYC health department spokesman told the Daily Mail, that "nothing about the guidance has changed," and there are no plans to bring back mask mandates at this time. 

On Wednesday, the commissioner of NYC's health department Dr. Ashwin Vasan said, "As cases rise, precautions become increasingly important, especially for our most vulnerable New Yorkers who are older, disabled, or have underlying health conditions." He continued, "Staying up to date with Covid vaccines, along with other proven prevention tools, like masking, testing, and staying home when sick, continues to be our best defense against Covid and other respiratory viruses."

"Antibodies from vaccination and prior infection will continue to provide some protection, as will available antiviral treatments like Paxlovid, which is still effective against all circulating strains of Covid," Vasan concluded. 

As of August 29, the infection rate in New York City is currently at 18 cases per 100,000 people with 502 people in the hospital on Thursday who "had" COVID, according to the Daily Mail. 

Last week, President Biden revealed that he had signed off on a proposal to Congress for additional funds to develop a new vaccine "that works" as cases of Covid have increased. He added that it will "likely be recommended that everybody get it, no matter whether they got it before or not." 

The World Health Organization announced that a new variant, BA.2.86, is "under monitoring ... due to the large number of mutations it carries." 

The organization said it "is tracking 3 variants of interest and 7 variants under monitoring at the moment. WHO continues to call for better surveillance, sequencing, and reporting of #COVID19 as this virus continues to circulate and evolve."

Last week, United Health Services in New York began requiring masks to be worn again. "Because of an uptick in COVID-19 cases, masks are once again required in all clinical areas at UHS Wilson Medical Center, UHS Binghamton General Hospital, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, and UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, as well as primary and specialty care sites," it said on its website. 

Lionsgate Film Studio initiated a mask mandate for its Santa Monica, California office after some employees tested positive for the virus, along with Morris Brown University in Atlanta, Georgia, which began to require all students and staff to mask up on campus this week.