COVID safety precautions are again at stake as a spike in New York infections brings Roosevelt Island to 6.9%. Wearing face masks on buses and in Tram cabins are common sense, painless steps for protecting ourselves and our neighbors.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
COVID Safety Now
Rising COVID infection rates pushed New York City’s alert system into yellow, alarming but not yet forcing a return to some mandates. Mayor Eric Adams interrupted a traffic safety briefing with a comment.
“We’re not there yet. We can’t close down the city again. If we make the right decisions, we’re not going to have to worry about doing that.”
So, what are the “right decisions?”
First and foremost, wearing face masks on Red Buses and in Tram cabins and practicing social distancing indoors. A handful of Roosevelt Islanders have refused to do so, and RIOC’s PSD enforcement is intermittent at best. And absent recently.
Face masks help prevent the spread of COVID by trapping droplets that are released when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. By doing so, it is less likely for others to come in contact with the virus. Wearing a face mask also protects the individual wearing it from coming in contact with the virus.
But the facts are still clear. A continued return to normal demands neighbors acting neighborly, and that starts with voluntarily wearing facemasks on public transit. It’s painless. It’s easy.
If you’d prefer seeing vaccine restrictions cripple restaurants and other small businesses again, then refuse to protect others and yourself with face masks.
It really isn’t complicated.
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As the Dust Settles
The way the wind cuts across the river this time of year. The way older buildings hold heat but never quite hold air. I told myself that was why my chest felt tight again on certain mornings. Age, perhaps.
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