NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- New York state has lifted its years-long mask mandate for mass transit, with face coverings now optional but encouraged in stations, trains and buses, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.
LISTEN TO 1010 WINS
The governor made the announcement during a COVID-19 briefing in East Harlem, where she received a booster shot and said coronavirus numbers in the state have stabilized.
“The Department of Health will be issuing new guidance regarding masks based on the CDC guidance,” Hochul said. “Starting today, masks will be optional.”
The mask mandate was implemented in April 2020. Compliance was high early in the pandemic but has dropped steeply in recent months.
Masks had been required at all indoor train stations, as well as aboard subways trains, commuter rail trains, buses and paratransit vehicles.
New signs in the subway and elsewhere will read: “Masks are encouraged but optional. Let’s respect each other’s choices.”
“I want to thank everyone who’s been complying for 28 months, it's been a long time,” Hochul said. “I know for many it became second nature, but it's always been a visible reminder that something is not normal here. But it was there for the right reason—it protected health—but now we’re in a far better place than we had been.”
Additionally, masks are now optional in for-hire vehicles, at airports, homeless shelters, correctional facilities and detention centers, according to a release from the state.
While the state is dropping most mask mandates effective immediately, masks will still be required at adult care and health care facilities regulated by the state Department of Health, as well as in clinical settings regulated by the Office of Mental Health, Office of Addiction Services and Supports, and Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.
Hochul said the easing of the requirement was thanks in part to the availability of new booster shots approved at the federal level last week that target the most common strain of COVID-19, the omicron variant.
Related
Related
