As many workers and students returned back to their daily lives after a well-deserved winter break in late December 2021, at many places, there was an unusual stillness in the air.  New York City residents glanced around their workplace and school classrooms, only to realize that many people were missing, out quarantining due to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, or staying home over concerns of contracting COVID-19. 

New York City suffered immensely from the Omicron variant of COVID-19, which swept through NYC in December 2021 and January 2022. Having an already high number of 14,034 new daily COVID-19 cases on December 24th, 2021, the number had only accelerated at an unprecedented fast pace in the weeks following. In just the span of a week, that number had doubled to almost 40,000. By the start of the new year, there were 45,341 new cases of COVID-19 in New York City. 

The total number of cases in New York City is at 607 cases as of this article’s publication on March 7th, 2022. This is truly a remarkable feat as there were a total of 40,150 cases in New York City on January 9th, 2022, less than two months prior.

On January 13th, 2022, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said, “Every case is one too many, but if you watch the trend line, it looks like we may be cresting over that peak.”

Fortunately, there is a strong downward curve in the daily COVID-19 positive case count, which The New York Times updates on a daily basis. The sudden change from a mountain of cases to a steep drop for the first time since December 2021— has sparked hope for many people. 

Hochul confirmed this optimistic news on January 16th, 2022. “Overall, the prognosis, the forecast for COVID-19  is much brighter than it has been before,” she said. “That is very positive news, if our hospitalizations continue to go down as well.”

In order to help reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in any way, NYC health officials asked that people take COVID-19 tests regularly, especially if they have symptoms, whether it is through a testing site or by procuring an at home rapid testing kit. Libraries and museums, for example, have started to assist in handing out testing kits to residents. In addition, NYC health officials highly recommend that residents receive their COVID-19 vaccinations and the booster shot. According to the CDC, 86.1% of New York City residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while around 73% of the population are fully vaccinated.

In response to the decline in Omicron cases, the NYC Department of Education also issued a new policy regarding student isolation if they test positive for COVID-19. Prior to January 26th, 2022, a student only needed to isolate themselves at home for 10 days before returning to their normal school schedule. The new policy, as reported by ABC News Channel 7, now states that students only need to quarantine for 5 days, as a result of the dramatic drop of positive cases. The NYC DOE did note that the returning students must have been fever-free for 24-hours prior to returning and that they must wear a “well-fitting mask” in the building. Students do not need to provide proof for testing positive after getting COVID-19.  

On Wednesday, February 8th, 2022, Governor Hochul dropped the previously required mask mandate, as well as proof for vaccination for multiple indoor-facilities. This is indeed a sign of change, as New York City is showing positive improvements after the devastating state it was in during January 2022. In addition, New York City schools dropped mask mandates as of Monday, March 7th, 2022. As of this date, students and staff in all NYC public schools have the option of choosing to not wear masks as a result of the current low COVID case level across NYC.

Fortunately, there is a strong downward curve in the daily COVID-19 positive case count, which The New York Times updates on a daily basis. The sudden change from a mountain of cases to a steep drop for the first time since December 2021— has sparked hope for many people.