Purchase College, part of the State University of New York system, mandated masking indoors as respiratory viruses have been spreading rapidly in the state and around the country.
(Bloomberg) — Purchase College, part of the State University of New York system, mandated masking indoors as respiratory viruses have been spreading rapidly in the state and around the country.
The college, in suburban Westchester County, raised its alert level for Covid transmission to orange, triggering the change. Other educational systems in the area, including the New York City school district, began encouraging masks indoors this week without requiring them. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends masking in public indoor settings and crowded outdoor settings.
Mask mandates have long been controversial in some parts of the US but were widely followed in New York City, one of the hardest-hit areas of the country in the early part of the pandemic. But public-health officials across the country have been reluctant to reinstate requirements on masking, preferring to make recommendations so that people won’t tune them out as they try to readjust to normal life. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said earlier this month that people didn’t need to wait for her agency to weigh in before putting on a mask, and to wear masks during the respiratory season and in places of high spread.
“Due to the high levels of virus in our area and on campus we must reinstitute the campus indoor masking policy,” SUNY Purchase said in a campuswide email. “It is our intent to have everyone complete their finals and return home healthy for the winter break.”
Other schools in the SUNY system didn’t have any change to a mask mandate on their websites on Wednesday morning. Each campus determines its own masking policy.
At this point in the flu season, hospitalizations are at their highest rate in more than a decade, according to the CDC. The agency has also reported 21 pediatric deaths so far this season. New York has had “high” or “very high” levels of influenza activity for five consecutive weeks ending December 3, the CDC influenza tracker says.
It’s not just the flu that’s been surging this season. Covid-19 is on the rise, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has been circulating as well. Together, these three respiratory viruses have been dubbed the “tripledemic,” and are worrying public health experts.
“It starts with protecting yourself. Vaccination and boosters are critical but so are common sense precautions like masking when indoors or among crowds and staying home if you don’t feel well,” Ashwin Vasan, the city health commissioner, said this week.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
