New York Mayor Asked Residents To Wear Two Masks

The New York city has been the epicenter for the nationwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last spring, New York was hit the worst with the coronavirus cases. The Mayor now is advising the New York residents to wear two masks at least till mid of the year.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio asked the residents to continue doing what they are doing now to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 infection.

He added not one mask, but wear to masks while out in public. He urged them to follow social distancing at every place. He also advised isolating the person who is infected with the virus at their homes. Besides, they should get tested every month for the SARS-Cov2 virus.

Blasio is not relaxing any CDC and WHO guidelines to check the spread of the diseases even when the vaccines are already rolled out. He asked the residents to still be cautious about the virus. 

New York Mayor Asked Residents To Wear Two Masks

The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) has always advocated a double masks strategy. According to CDC if the surgical masks are layered with another cloth mask that is fitted well is beneficial in preventing the spread of the diseases. 

CDC had said in a statement last week that the surgical masks when used with a cloth mask, and if the practice is followed by all, the risk for the SARS-Cov2 virus transmission can fall up to 95%. The benefit somewhere lies around 80% if only one person is following the double mask rule. 

De Blasio hoped that the residents are going to follow the guidelines, especially regarding the double mask strategy in public places, to contain the spread of the virus. He said he expects the New York residents to keep practicing this till June. 

Mayor De Blasio is hopeful that by June around 5 million New Yorkers will be vaccinated fully. So, by June they can consider about modifying the guidance about wearing masks.

But right now, they will continue with the current guidance depending upon the situation. He added that they are more worried about the new virus variants that are now circulating in the country. 

According to him, the new virus variant is the X-factor in deciding the modifications of guidance surrounding wearing double masks.

New York city is still reporting thousands of new COVID-19 cases daily. On Tuesday, the reported number of new cases was 3,254. The COVID-19 positive case rate in New York city is 7.32%.

New York city’s health commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi also agreed with him. He said that they are not in a position to take off their foot from the gas. They still need to be as much cautious as ever to protect themselves. 

Dr. Chokshi added that though they now have a new valuable weapon in their arsenal, but still, they need to shield themselves. He said that with the COVID-19 vaccines now being administered at a faster pace, an additional layer of safety is also better.

The guidelines that the people are following till now since the start of the pandemic should be looked upon as an extra layer of protection. Mask wearing, if possible, the use of double masks, is one of them. 

Dr. Chokshi pressed that the new Yorkers should become accustomed to wearing double masks or higher-grade masks for this year as well. He also insisted that the people who are vaccinated against the COVID-19 infection should also continue wearing the masks.

The United States is still facing a surge in the COVID-19 cases. New York City is also reporting new cases and with the new and more infectious coronavirus infection in the city, the residents are advised not to relax their guards against the virus.