NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – New York’s statewide “mask or vax” mandate for all indoor public places effect Monday, but several counties said they won’t enforce the new order.
Under the month-long mandate, businesses and venues must implement a mask requirement indoors if they don't already require proof of fully vaccinated status.
Rockland, Dutchess and Putnam are among the counties that currently don’t plan to enforce the ban. Officials in Madison, Niagara and Rensselaer counties also said they’re not on board.
Rockland County Executive Ed Day said having local health departments enforce the mandate could hinder the vaccination push.
“I’m not going to take people off of vaccination efforts to have them walk around and tell people to put their mask on their face,” Day told WCBS-TV.
Day said the mandate could also backfire: “People who are on the edge of where we’re convincing them to get vaccinated are basically going to say, ‘You know something, if I’m going to wear a mask, why even bother getting vaccinated at this point?’”
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the mandate last week, saying she had a duty to protect the health of New Yorkers and the state's economy amid the threat of the omicron variant of the coronavirus and an expected “winter surge” in cases after the holidays.
The governor said that since Thanksgiving there has already been a 43% increase in new cases and a 26% decline in hospital capacity statewide.
Hochul said she met with county officials last week and that they were clamoring for a blanket rule that would apply to the whole state.
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” the governor said. “I was pleading with New Yorkers to get vaccinated. Many did, and I thank them.”
Under the new mandate, people will be required to wear face masks in public places that don’t already have a vaccine requirement in place.
For example, in New York City, restaurants and entertainment venues like theaters already require people to be vaccinated to enter. These vaccine requirements will stay in place and people won’t be required to wear masks at these locations.
The new requirement extends to both patrons and staff.
Here are some of the locations where the new mandate will be enforced by local health departments, with violators facing civil and criminal penalties, including a $1,000 fine: entertainment venues, concert halls, indoor sports stadiums, recreational spaces, restaurants, office buildings, shopping centers, grocery stores, pharmacies, houses of worship and common areas in residential buildings.
The mandate lasts until Jan. 15, when the state will reassess it post-holidays.
More information about the mandate can be found here on the state health department’s website.
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