Rising COVID cases may push city Health Department to raise alert level in coming days

As COVID-19 cases rise statewide, the city can expect to move to a “medium” alert level in the next week, the top city health official said Friday.

“In the next few days — likely by early next week — we’re going to be entering a new level of risk,” Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan told NY1.

The city’s COVID alert level was “low” on Friday. A “low” alert level means “there is lower community spread” of the illness.

But cases have been rising rapidly, Health Department data shows. In the seven days leading up to Thursday, about 4.5% of COVID tests in New York were positive, the city says.

“Cases are increasing throughout NYC,” the Health Department said in a tweet Thursday. “According to our latest data, five neighborhoods have positivity rates over 10%, and four of the five are in Manhattan.”

Raising the alert level to “medium” means the Health Department sees “medium community spread of COVID-19.” The next level, “high,” would signal higher community spread and “substantial pressure on the health care system.”

The highly contagious BA.2 sub variant has been surging in central and western New York, Gov. Hochul said Thursday.

The statewide positivity rate rose to 5.3%, the most recent data shows.