Indoor restrictions likely to take effect in ‘matter of days,' de Blasio says

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Mayor Bill de Blasio tours the Pandemic Response Lab at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Manhattan on Dec. 2. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tours the Pandemic Response Lab at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Manhattan on Dec. 2. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

By David Brand

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he expects the state to reimpose restrictions on indoor activities in “a matter of days,” with New York City’s seven-day test positivity rate at 5 percent and the number of COVID hospitalizations continuing to rise. 

In several neighborhoods, including Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park, the seven-day positivity rate has reached or exceeded 10 percent, according to the most recent Department of Health data. Restrictions on indoor dining and other activities may be necessary to curb the spread as New Yorkers await a new vaccine, de Blasio said. 

“This is the last big battle. I really believe this. We've got to stop the coronavirus here and get ourselves to the point where the vaccine is being distributed widely, “ de Blasio said Tuesday. “And that's how we close this chapter and move forward to our recovery. So, I do expect restrictions in a matter of days.”

De Blasio referenced an announcement Monday from Gov. Andrew Cuomo indicating that the state will halt indoor dining if hospitalizations do not decrease.

“No one's happy about it. I feel for the small businesses that might be affected and their employees, but this health situation has to be addressed,” de Blasio said.

The city has also begun including rapid test results in its COVID rate calculations, a move that aligns municipal health department reporting with state figures. The city had previously declined to count those results because of their questionable accuracy, said Senior Health Advisor Dr. Jay Varma.

The rising COVID positivity rate has been fueled by a startling spike in cases in Staten Island, but the spread is not relegated to that borough alone.

Ozone Park’s seven-day test positivity rate reached 8.51 percent, according to the most recent Health Department data. Bellerose and Elmhurst are also at roughly 8 percent.