Hochul warns of COVID uptick weeks after proposing mask ban

Hochul sent out updated COVID statistics and guidance, warning of a COVID uptick weeks after suggesting a ban on masks downstate.

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — On Saturday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent out updated COVID statistics and guidance. Compared to this time last year, she said hospitalizations are up, though still below 2022 levels.

Date	Average rate of new COVID hospitalizations
June 26 to July 3, 2022	1.66 per 100,000 New Yorkers
June 26 to July 3, 2023	0.31 per 100,000 New Yorkers
June 26 to July 3, 2024	0.72 per 100,000 New Yorkers

“While we are well below the figures seen during the pandemic, we are closely monitoring activity regarding the latest variants,” Hochul said in a written statement.

Crowding hospitals follow a national trend as new variants infect new individuals during the summer, when people congregate inside to beat the heat. And the general guidance from officials hasn't changed much:

• Get vaccinated
• Social distance, wash your hands, and wear a mask in public
• Get tested if you have symptoms like sore throat, cough, fatigue, congestion, runny nose, headache, muscle aches, fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or difficulty breathing
• Follow CDC isolation guidance if you test positive, reduced to 24 hours after fever ends
• Seek necessary treatments

"This is a good opportunity to remind people to improve indoor ventilation whenever possible," said New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald. "Anyone who would like an updated vaccine can get one at their pharmacy.”

And, "We can play a role in reducing the current spread by wearing masks in crowded and indoor spaces, accessing COVID tests and vaccines, and making safe choices if we have symptoms to protect vulnerable families and neighbors,” said State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, Chair of the Health Committee. “I hope we recognize the continued vigilance that COVID requires as concerning mask bans have been proposed in our state and across the country. Wearing a mask is a proven preventive measure to protect each other from COVID-19.”

The most prominent variants today—including KP.2 and KP.1.1, dubbed “FLiRT,” and the very similar JN.1—branched off from omicron, which was first identified in late 2021. “Our current data suggest that a JN.1 or KP.2 new variant vaccine will protect against JN.1, KP.2, KP.3 and other JN.1 sub-variants that are now co-circulating,” a Moderna spokesperson said in June.

Also in June, Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested banning masks at protests and on subways. Opponents to such a ban say it would endanger New Yorkers. The State Legislature would need to convene a special session to address that suggestion. Both parties and both houses of the legislature have proposals potentially on the table:

• S9867/A10057A: "Relates to concealment of identity in a lawful or unlawful assembly or riot"
• S9194/A10043: "Establishes the crimes of deceptive wearing of a mask and aggravated deceptive wearing of a mask"

With people testing at home, officials can't tally casual infections like they did in the height of the pandemic. That makes conclusive or precise data more difficult to come by at the CDC.

New York’s Wadsworth Lab mostly relies on wastewater testing to figure out COVID infections and find variants. Hochul said that federal and local wastewater surveillance shows new variants increasing statewide and nationally.