NYC COVID-19 Cases Continue Surge As Delta Variant Spreads

NEW YORK CITY — A steady rise in coronavirus cases continued across New York City as the more-contagious delta variant became the city's most dominant strain.

The city saw an average of 516 new COVID-19 cases and 1.69 percent positivity in the latest data, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

Both are more than double the number that were typical in June, according to city data.

De Blasio and city health officials linked the spike to the delta variant. But they also stressed the city's vaccination efforts remain its best defense.

“The bottom line is vaccination is the reason we’re in a very, very different situation than other parts of the country that are suffering,” de Blasio said.

The delta variant's rise is prompting widespread fears of "pandemic of the unvaccinated," The Associated Press reported.

COVID-19 cases across the country tripled in the past three weeks, with hospitalizations and deaths rising among unvaccinated people. Officials fear that localized areas or even whole states with low vaccination rates could see coronavirus resurgences.

Four states with low vaccination rates accounted for 40 percent of new cases about a week ago, with nearly half from Florida, according to The Associated Press.

“Look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated,” President Joe Biden said Friday.

The delta variant last week became the city's dominant strain of coronavirus, according to city data. It now accounts for 69 percent of new cases, said Dave Chokshi, the city's health commissioner.

Fighting the variant likely will not impact the city's burgeoning reopening, in which all but a handful of pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted.

De Blasio repeatedly brushed aside questions about reinstating mask mandates in New York City.

Masks help, but the best defense against the delta variant is vaccination, he said.

"We do not intend a mask mandate,” he said. “We do intend to double down on vaccination. We will be speaking about this throughout the week.”

The city has not seen a problem in so-called "breakthrough infections" of people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus but test positive for it, de Blasio said.

Chokshi said overall the delta variant can cause slightly higher breakthrough infections, but he stressed those are different than breakthrough disease.

Vaccines continue to offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 outcomes such as hospitalization and death, he said.

“All of these are more avoidable than they have ever been during this pandemic because of vaccination,” he said.

About 9.74 million doses of coronavirus vaccine have gone into arms so far in the city, data shows. About 58 percent of all New York City dwellers of all ages have received at least one dose of vaccine.