Mask Now Mandatory In Public Spaces In New York
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : December 13, 2021With the onset of Omicron and rising cases due to delta variant, the US has initiated some stringent warnings to people. Kathy Hochul the governor of New York has stated that this is one of the most populated cities in the US and if there is another outbreak it will be hard to control.
Mask Now Mandatory In Public Spaces In New York
In the spirit of protecting people, there will now be a mask mandate in New York which will come into motion from 13th Dec 2021.
This will be in effect till Jan 15, 2022, until further data has been received by the researchers. If any person is found to be violating this mask mandate a huge fine would be pressed on the person which can go up to $1000. Most of the public places in New York now requires people to show their covid vaccination certificate in order for them to enter.
Hochul stated that these are temporary measures to slow down the transmission rate of the virus from one person to another. New York is seeing more hospitalization and death rate since thanksgiving at the positive cases has risen up to 43% in two weeks time. However, the vaccination rate has only got up 2% in this time period. New York currently has one of the highest vaccination rates of 80% being fully vaccinated.
One of the reasons for the high vaccination rate was the mandatory requirement of full vaccination certificates in public spaces. As many as 500,000 booster shots were given out in the last week to all the people who have completed the 6-month gap after their second dose. Governor stated that the vaccination rate should go faster so as to keep the people out of the hospital.
Dr. Mary Bassett who is the health commissioner of New York stated that in today`s time health care services have all the necessary tools that are required to stop this and they should use them as and when they see fit. However, if people do not take their vaccinations the doctors won’t be able to help them.
Bassett stated that Omicron is spreading much faster and more than 20 cases have been found in New York itself. However, Delta has a more than 99% hospitalization and death rate. As of now no case of death has been reported due to the Omicron and people should focus on saving themselves from the delta variant.
Pharma companies have been asked to increase their production so as to vaccinate as many people as possible. Researchers have stated that if people do not take their vaccination during this winter season the outbreak would be catastrophic and will be witnessing what the country saw last winter.
People are now a bit confused on what fully vaccinated means as earlier 2 doses meant fully vaccinated and now the government has asked people to take the booster shots as well. Many of the establishments in the malls and theatres have asked their employees to get the booster shots if they are eligible and a paid leave for that day will be provided to them. Companies stated that this is need of the hour and they care for their employees so giving a paid leave seems like the right move at this time. This response has been appreciated widely throughout the country and by President Joe Biden himself as well. People are now lining up outside hospitals and health care centers to get their booster shots.
Other states like Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico also imposed the mask mandate due to the rising number of cases.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.