New York City has downgraded its COVID-19 alert level, officials said Tuesday, citing a shift to “the other side” of a recent wave of cases. 

The five boroughs have moved from a “high” to “medium” risk level, Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, said in a joint press release Tuesday afternoon. 

The city had been at a “high” alert level since May 17


What You Need To Know

  • New York City has downgraded its COVID-19 alert level to "medium," officials said Tuesday

  • The city had been at a "high" alert level since May 17

  • As of Tuesday, the five boroughs had a 7.73% seven-day average infection rate, with COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and confirmed deaths all on the decline, according to city data

“Day after day, New Yorkers are stepping up and doing their part, and because of our collective efforts, we are winning the fight against COVID-19,” Adams and Vasan said in a statement. “We’re grateful to New Yorkers for their continued attention and vigilance as we’ve made our way through to the other side of this wave, and as a result, we’re pleased to announce that New York has fallen into the ‘medium’ risk category.” 

“This surge has taught us a lot about how the virus is currently behaving, and how to prepare for the coming weeks and months,” they added. 

As of Tuesday, the city had a 7.73% seven-day average infection rate, with COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and confirmed deaths all on the decline, data compiled by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene showed.

Adams and Vasan’s announcement came as privately run COVID-19 vaccination sites across the five boroughs started to administer vaccines to children under the age of 5. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old last week.