The NYPD has issued a new mandate late Sunday requiring all officers and employees to wear a mask while on duty, regardless of their vaccination status.
The directive comes as the city faces an enormous spike in COVID cases as the Omicron variant spreads through the country, The New York Times reports. Over the summer, fully vaccinated officers could take off their masks in certain situations, but they were required to stay masked while working with the public.
“All members of the service, regardless of vaccination status, who are able to medically tolerate a face covering, are required to wear a face covering that covers their mouth and nose at all times while they are in a shared indoor workspace, except when eating or drinking,” a department email detailing the mandate reads, according to the New York Post.
Over 2,700 uniformed officers were out sick as of Tuesday, which was an about 13% increase from Monday, and three officers have been hospitalized, CNN reports. Normally, about 3% of officers are out sick at this time, but the department had about 22% of its employees out ill during the pandemic's peak.
So far, COVID has killed 63 NYPD employees.
