LOCAL NEWS
Vax mandate for
private biz takes
effect amid surge
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
Speaking to New Yorkers
in one of his fi nal
press conferences on
Dec. 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio
and a panel of experts and
guest speakers addressed
the burgeoning threat of the
Omicron variant of COVID,
and the new private business
vaccine mandate.
As of Monday, according
to speaker Dr. Ted Long,
there have been 296 new
COVID-related hospital admissions
and 17,334 newly
reported cases of the virus.
Additionally 13,101,389 vaccination
doses have been administered.
De Blasio also addressed a
private sector vaccine mandate
that took effect Monday,
which requires employees at
private businesses in all boroughs
to show proof of vaccination
in order to work. New
York City is the fi rst major
city in the nation to implement
such a mandate, with
de Blasio commenting that
he hopes other cities will follow
suit.
Businesses that do not adhere
to the mandate will be
penalized with a $1,000 fi ne
per infraction or non compliance.
The mandate also
allows for employees to fi le
for “reasonable accommodations”
if they believe they
should be exempted from the
vaccine requirement.
“COVID-19 is obviously
bad for humans, but it is also
bad for business,” said de
Blasio. “This mandate will
help us win the smoldering
fi ght against a deadly disease.”
However, it remains unclear
whether or not incoming
Mayor-elect Eric Adams
will continue this initiative.
When questioned, Mayor
de Blasio remarked that
while he hoped the mandate
would remain in place, it was
up to Adams whether or not
to continue to enforce it, but
that they had had conversations
regarding the topic, as
well as the mayoral transition
itself.
Another panelist, Dr. Irwin
Redlener spoke to the
importance of widespread
vaccination.
“I was visiting a hospital
in New York City the other
day and every single bed on
the COVID fl oor was taken,”
said Redlener. “There were
also COVID patients in the
ICU – a lot of them. Of the
patients in the ICU, 100%
of them were unvaccinated
(…) so I think this mandate
is absolutely the right thing
to do.”
Mayor de Blasio also announced
that for individuals
12 and older, a two-dose vaccine
requirement is now in
place in order to enter restaurants
or to participate in other
indoor activities. Booster
shots are available for all
adults who have received
both doses of the Moderna
or Pfi zer vaccine at least six
months ago as well as for the
Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The $100 booster incentive
initiative introduced by
the Mayor on Dec 21 continues
until the end of this
week.
“These mandates work,”
said de Blasio. “And we can
use them to end this COVID
era we have been living
through.”
People line up for a COVID-19 test in Times Square on Dec. 26, 2021. Spike continues
Omicron hits Hudson Square, East Village hard
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
New York City has entered
uncharted territory
in the COVID-19
pandemic thanks to the fastspreading
Omicron variant,
with more than 10,000 people
a day, on average, testing positive
for the virus.
Worse, the latest city Health
Department data indicates that
126 neighborhoods across the
Five Boroughs have a 7-day COVID
19 positivity rate of 10%
or higher between Dec. 14-20.
Approximately 40 communities
reported 500 or more new
COVID-19 cases during that
period, and four areas achieved
1,000 or more new infections.
Hudson Square/Meatpacking
District/West Village in Manhattan
(10014) had a 16.4%
7-day positivity rate and 634
new infections — the third-highest
positivity rate in the city.
Three other areas in Manhattan
tallied 1,000 or more new
COVID-19 cases during the
period: East Village/Gramercy/
Greenwich Village (10003,
1,316 cases, 14.91% positivity
rate); Chelsea (10011, 1,173
cases, 14.3%); and Kips Bay/
Murray Hill (10016, 14.86%,
1,133 cases).
COVID-19 is spreading
across New York City at a faster
rate than at any other point during
the pandemic, including
the deadly fi rst wave between
March-April 2020 that brought
the city to a virtual standstill.
Yet the current situation is not
nearly as grave as it was then.
Hospitalizations and deaths,
while trending upward, are
holding steadily lower, according
to the latest data from
the city’s Health Department.
Omicron is causing numerous
breakthrough infections among
vaccinated New Yorkers, but
the vast majority of these cases
are proving to be mild because
of the vaccines they previously
received.
Nevertheless, the quick-moving
Omicron variant — now the
REUTERS/ANDREW KELLY
dominant COVID-19 strain in
New York only four weeks after
the fi rst case was detected here,
according to CDC estimates
— helped drive daily infection
rates beyond 10,000 per day last
week. On Dec. 20 alone, 13,123
new COVID-19 cases were reported,
and the 7-day average
case total stood at 12,613.
The Dec. 20 caseload was
more than twice the daily high
reached during the fi rst wave in
March/April 2020 (5,916 cases
on April 3, 2020) and represents
about a 63% increase from the
daily high achieved in the second
wave in December 2020/
January 2021 (8,004 cases reported
on Jan. 4).
Transmission rates, which
track the spread and movement
of COVID-19, are off the
charts. The 7-day transmission
rate for New York City, the
Health Department reported,
is 1,059.07 case per 100,000
people. Manhattan, Brooklyn
and Staten Island all have rates
above 1,000 per 100,000.
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