New York City health officials urge return to indoor masking

Updated: Jul 9, 2022 / 10:32 AM CDT

The Chrysler Building is seen at sunrise from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building on April 3, 2021, in New York City. – The Empire State Building, a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, opened during the Great Depression on May 1, 1931. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City public health officials on Friday urged residents to return to indoor mask-wearing, noting how they’re seeing high levels of COVID-19 infection.

To help slow the spread, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommended in a tweet that “all New Yorkers should wear a high-quality mask, such as an N95, KN95 or KF94 in all public indoor settings and around crowds outside.”

Data posted on the agency’s website show the number of new confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 was 5,352 as of July 5, compared to 2,760 as of July 3. Due to delays in reporting, the data are incomplete.

Omicron remains the dominant variant in New York City and the BA.5 and BA.2.12.1 sublineages account for most of the current cases in the city, according to the public health department.