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The Tiffany & Co. flagship store is seen in New York on Nov. 26, 2021.

The Tiffany & Co. flagship store is seen in New York on Nov. 26, 2021. (David Dee Delgado/Bloomberg)

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The recent uptick in COVID-19 cases across New York City has prompted increased caution from the city.

The city has moved to a "medium" alert level from "low" as new cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days have surpassed 200. The latest figure of 209.02 cases per 100,000 is the highest since early February.

Patients hospitalized with the virus also have increased over the last month, but still remain below 500. During the omicron-induced surge around the holidays, hospitalizations in the city peaked above 6,500 in January, according to data from New York State.

Guidance for the new alert level encourages New Yorkers to wear a face mask in public indoor settings where vaccine status is unknown.

Manhattan has the highest transmission levels of any borough, though it has seen numbers trend lower since mid-April, according to data from the city. All other boroughs have seen levels rise over the last couple of weeks, prompting the change in the city's alert level.

"This reflects a growing wave of omicron sub-variants," Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine tweeted Monday.

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