New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would not act in response to the city’s “high” level COVID-19 alert by reimplementing an indoor mask mandate in remarks during a Wednesday press conference.

The New York City Health Department has issued warnings that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the city are on the rise, but Adams stood his ground during a Wednesday news conference, stating he does not plan to reinstate an indoor mask mandate at this time.

“I’m proud of what we are doing and how we are not allowing COVID to outsmart us,” Adams said. “We’re staying prepared and not panicking.”

He said hospitalizations and deaths are “stable,” and pointed to testing as “really changing the game.” He also said that when the COVID-19 alert level system was implemented, many of the resources now available weren’t an option.

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Adams explained that variants are going to arise and moving to thoughts of shutdowns or panicking will make New York City unable “to function as a city.”

“Variants are going to continue to come,” he said. “It appears as though there’s a new norm that is settling in our city, in our countries.”

When New York City is in “high” COVID-19 alert, the city’s health commissioner advises all New Yorkers to wear a mask in any public indoor setting, according to its website.

There are 338.33 new cases and 10.5 new hospital admissions per 100,000 people in New York City in the last seven days, according to the city’s website. The percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients has seen a 4.36% increase in that time period.

The New York City Mayor’s office and the Department of Health did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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