COVID-19 has a knack for rebounding just as life starts to reopen a bit more in New York City.
This fall, many businesses began hybrid operations — with a mix of office time and work-from-home schedules. International travelers are flooding back into the boroughs — a potential boon for the hard-hit hospitality industry. And holiday travel has almost rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
But a coronavirus surge has also snuck up on New York City like a panther. The daily case rate is averaging around 1,300 infections and looks on course to end November twice as high as where it began. That would put infections near this summer’s high mark — when the delta variant took over.
Hospitalizations remain low in the city for now, but these severe cases are rising swiftly upstate. Those places are also less vaccinated than New York City, but one in four people still haven’t taken their shots in the five boroughs. That said, most holiday revelers are currently in a safer position now relative to a year ago when vaccines weren’t available.
But for any concerned parties, COVID-19 safety is all about layering on different types of protection. Vaccines drop risk the most. Testing can help screen out possible carriers. When that fails, mask-wearing indoors and good ventilation can reduce airborne spread.
To gauge how many precautions to take, the first step is thinking about how many people at your gathering would struggle the most if they caught the coronavirus. Next, a party host will want to consider how to limit those risks through a mixture of testing, mask use and ventilation.
No plan will be foolproof, and all gatherings will come with a certain amount of COVID risk whenever case rates rise. As of Tuesday, every county except one in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut is reporting a high level of community transmission. Keeping a few tips in mind can help minimize the danger.
The journey back to normal is naturally going to come with more risks than just staying home. From a public health perspective, people will hopefully try to do the right thing to limit coronavirus spread, while also striking a balance with the decisions that feel right for them.
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