Mask mandates are back in Big Apple hospitals and other health facilities as cases of COVID and the flu have jumped in recent weeks, the city’s health department confirmed Wednesday.
The requirement applies to all 11 hospitals across the five boroughs under the umbrella of New York City’s Health and Hospitals and went into effect just after Christmas.
“As we’ve seen an increase in COVID, flu, and RSV, our priority is to protect our patients, staff, and the community,” a NYCH+H spokesperson told The Post Wednesday. “This applies to clinical settings such as our hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes.”
The city recorded a steady uptick in COVID cases during December with a slight decrease near the end of the month, according to state data.
More than 1,300 patients were hospitalized with the virus as of Tuesday, per state numbers.
Meanwhile the city is facing a very high level of flu, according to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention.
“What we don’t want are staffing shortages, right. When we saw the omicron wave in 2022 the biggest issues were not only people getting sick but we had a lot of frontline health workers with COVID,” Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in an ABC 7 interview.
“My message to New Yorkers is that it’s not inevitable that you’re just gonna fall victim to this,” he added, referring to the multiple respiratory illnesses floating around. “There are tools and strategies that we can take to keep ourselves and our families safe.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul previously scrapped mask mandates for anyone entering a hospital or nursing home last February.
