NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – No masks, no service. That's the new rule in New York state.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that he's signing an executive order allowing business owners to kick out customers who aren't wearing face coverings.
The executive order, which Cuomo said he'd sign immediately, authorizes private businesses to deny entrance to people who do not wear a mask or face covering.
"When we’re talking about reopening stores and places of business, we’re giving the store owners the right to say, 'If you’re not wearing a mask you can't come in,'" Cuomo said. "That store owner has the right to protect themselves. That store owner has the right to protect the other patrons in that store. You don’t wear a mask, fine, but then you don’t have a right to go into the store if that store owner doesn’t want you to."
Asked by WCBS 880's Peter Haskell if the order could lead to conflicts between customers and business owners, Cuomo said it's a possibility.
“It’s New York, you can have a conflict if you say, ‘Good morning,’” Cuomo said. “Yeah, could somebody complain to the store owner, ‘I think I should have the right to come in even though I don’t have a mask?’ Somebody can say that. That person would be wrong, but they can say that.”
Comedian Chris Rock, who joined Cuomo along with actress Rosie Perez to promote mask use, said he’s seeing “probably 40 percent of people” wearing a mask in Brooklyn.
“It’s the kids that really aren’t wearing a mask,” Rock said. “It’s sad that our health has become, you know, a sort of political issue. It’s a status symbol almost to not wear a mask.”
“I give them a nice side eye,” Rock said of people who don’t have a mask on.
Perez said she tries to “bring some levity into the equation” when reminding people to wear a mask. "Do the right thing, put your mask on. Come on people," she said, referring to the Spike Lee film that launched her career.
“What really boggles my mind,” Perez said, “When you step into the communities that are affluent, where you see hipsters and yuppies walking around without a mask. I go, 'What is it? Is it arrogance? Is it an arrogant, defiant act that you’re doing? Do you think that you are not going to be affected?' Okay, fine, that’s your thing, but you’re affecting me too.”
Perez said a lot of the focus has been on getting low income communities and communities of color to wear masks but every New Yorker needs to do their part.
“We’re encouraging Latinos and African Americans to wear a mask that come from low income communities,” Perez said. “Well, you know what, everyone needs to get on board. Everyone, put your arrogance aside, put your ego aside and come together.”
At his briefing Thursday, Cuomo also reported another 74 deaths from the coronavirus, warning that even as the number of deaths and hospitalizations continues to decline COVID-19 will “remain a cause of death for the foreseeable future.”
Cuomo said there were 74 more deaths since Wednesday, when another 74 new deaths were reported.
The lowest number of daily deaths since the pandemic began—73—was reported Tuesday. Over 700 people were dying a day at the height of the pandemic.
The death toll in the state is now 23,717.
Cuomo warned deaths from the coronavirus will continue in the coming months.
“We have a large state, and the COVID virus tends to attack those who are seniors and those who have underlying illnesses and will remain a cause of death for the foreseeable future, I’m afraid to say,” Cuomo said. “But we want to get this number down as low as possible.”
The number of cases in the state is 364,965—up 1,129 since Wednesday.
Cuomo said the number of new hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the state reached its “lowest” point yet,163.
The governor reiterated that the state will be focusing on reopening New York City now that the rest of the state has entered Phase 1 of reopening.
"New York City is a more difficult situation," Cuomo said. "We were attacked in New York City by the coronavirus from Europe."
"We were the hardest hit, but we're going to reopen as the smartest," Cuomo said. "So we did get hit the hardest, but we learned."
While Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the city should reopen between June 1 and June 15, Cuomo echoed the sentiment that it would be soon without going into specifics.
"New York City has yet to hit Phase 1, but that is what we are pointing towards," the governor said.