New York State has been on PAUSE—a period of sheltering in place and the closing of non-essential businesses—since Sunday, March 22, in order to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the state has significantly decreased its new cases of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo have begun to ease restrictions. While this is a very positive sign of progress, reopening may cause some anxiety for many New Yorkers who have been keeping their distance from others.
Dana S. Mazo, MD, MSc, an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and physician lead for Infection Prevention at Mount Sinai Queens, explains how to safely transition to a more bustling New York City and what you need to know about protecting yourself as the city and state reopen.
How can New Yorkers prepare for reopening?
It’s completely reasonable to be anxious; we are in unchartered waters. When we stop sheltering at home, life will not go right back to how it used to be—we will enter a new normal. The good point here is that we have been practicing all of the measures we need to take to keep us safe for this ‘new normal’ during the PAUSE. Once we can go outside for more non-essential reasons, we should continue to practice social distancing, wear a mask, clean high-touch surfaces such as door knobs, and practice good hand hygiene. Those are the key behaviors that everyone can do to remain safe.
Additionally, the Mayor and the Governor will reopen the city and state in stages. This will give us time to adapt to the changes so that you can keep yourself, your loved ones, and the people around you safe.
If I am wearing a mask, do I need to continue to practice social distancing?
It is important to keep doing all of the preventative behaviors—including social distancing—regardless of whether you are wearing a mask. The most important role of the mask is to protect the people around you because, even if you are not exhibiting symptoms, you can still be infected with and spread the coronavirus.
The virus is spread via respiratory droplets. So if you are talking, singing, coughing, or shouting without being masked, the droplets can spread from your mouth to someone else. Wearing a mask reduces the spread but doesn’t stop it completely. That’s why wearing a mask alone is not sufficient. You should still practice social distancing—try to keep more than six feet away from other people—and wash your hands.
Hand washing is one of the most important measures that you can do to prevent spreading or contracting the coronavirus. Not only can droplets spread through close, unmasked talking, but droplets can fall on surfaces. If someone touches the surface where infected droplets have fallen and then touches their face, it is possible for them to contract the virus. Additionally, it is very important to stay home if you’re not feeling well, especially if you have a fever, cough, or headache.
While I am excited to get back outside, I am concerned about large, crowded areas. Are there special precautions I should take to protect myself?
The good thing is that your likelihood of becoming infected with the coronavirus outside is less than your likelihood of contracting the virus inside. When you’re outside, there is usually more space so it is easier to social distance likely that you are going to touch the same surfaces as other people. it’s much less likely that you are going to touch the same surfaces as other people, like when you are riding a crowded subway, eating in a restaurant, or going to the movies.
So, being outside is good not just for your peace of mind and enjoyment, but also because it is harder to spread coronavirus. That said, it is still possible to contract coronavirus outside, even if the risk is less than when you are indoors. So, you should still practice social distancing by trying to avoid large groups and to not spend a lot of time around people who you haven’t already been sheltering in place with.
How is Mount Sinai preparing to return to normal operations?
Mount Sinai has been working very hard to make sure that we can safely return to more normal operations. Staff, as well as patients, are required to wear masks while on the premises, and we have made sure that patients can socially distance while in lobbies and waiting rooms.
Additionally, we actively screen both staff and patients for symptoms of the virus.
When patients receive their pre-appointment reminder, they are screened for symptoms and—when they come in for the appointment—their temperature is measured and they are again screened for active symptoms. When appropriate, before high-risk procedures, we will test our patients for COVID-19.
Mount Sinai is also thoroughly cleaning high-touch surfaces like door knobs and elevator buttons—both in the hospital and in the ambulatory clinics—and ensuring there is hand sanitizer easily available throughout our facilities. You will see the dispensers everywhere.
If your reason for coming is COVID-19, we will address that appropriately.
Mount Sinai is working hard to make sure that our patients can safely receive treatment. If you are sick and you need to go see your doctor or visit the emergency room, do not put your health on hold. We want all of our patients get the care that they need.