NEW YORK >> Mayor Eric Adams upgraded New York City’s COVID-19 alert status to high on Tuesday because of a recent surge in people being hospitalized for the virus.

The change in status comes as the number of hospitalizations in the city due to COVID-19 has increased steadily over the past two months and as more and more New Yorkers test positive.

“New York City has transitioned to a high COVID alert level, meaning now is the time to double down on protecting ourselves and each other by making choices that can keep our friends, neighbors, relatives and coworkers from getting sick,” the city’s Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said in a written statement Tuesday.

“As a city, we have the tools to blunt the impact of this wave, including distributing tests, masks and promoting treatments. Getting back to Low Risk depends on everyone doing their part and if we follow guidance, our forecasts anticipate this wave’s peak will not last long. What we do now can make all the difference.”

The upgrade also comes a day after Adams announced that the city would be distributing an additional 16 million at-home test kits over the next month and after Vasan put out an advisory strongly recommending that New Yorkers mask up when in public settings indoors.

On Monday morning, city officials hinted that an upgraded COVID-19 status alert may be on the horizon, but Adams pushed back on a reporter’s question later in the day about the possibility of one.