New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking private businesses to adopt a “vaccine-only admission” and warned that if COVID-19 cases continue to rise, workers in certain fields should be mandated to receive a vaccine. Cuomo made the announcement — which is not a formal mandate — Monday morning during a press briefing. The governor said he believes that vaccinations should be also be mandated for health care workers, teachers and nursing home workers with no testing option if numbers don’t come down.”I am asking them, and suggesting to them, to go to vaccine-only admission,” Cuomo said. “I believe it’s in your business interest to run a vaccine-only establishment.”He stopped short of asking that another set of mask mandates be set forward in the state. That decision will be left with local governments, who are being asked to follow new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week. That guidance recommends having fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19. That includes nearly two-thirds of counties in the nation, but none in the North Country at the time of this report. “It’s up to the local governments — learn the lesson from last year,” Cuomo said. “Don’t deny reality.”Cuomo said he is unable to impose a widespread mask mandate as he did last year, citing a move by lawmakers to strip him of broad powers to issue pandemic-related rules and restrictions. The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases has surged in the state in recent weeks. Roughly 2,200 cases are being reported each week according to CDC data, up from about 350 at the beginning of July. Hospitalizations have nearly doubled statewide during that same period. The number of people being hospitalized in the North Country has remained fairly stable, with no more than six people receiving treatment for the disease in a hospital during a single day. Health Department dashboards do not provide any data on the vaccination status of those hospitalized with COVID-19. Nationwide, health officials continue to reiterate that the vaccines have proven effective at preventing serious illness and death from the virus as the delta variant spreads. Less than 0.004% of fully vaccinated people have experienced a “breakthrough” case that led to hospitalization.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking private businesses to adopt a “vaccine-only admission” and warned that if COVID-19 cases continue to rise, workers in certain fields should be mandated to receive a vaccine.
Cuomo made the announcement — which is not a formal mandate — Monday morning during a press briefing. The governor said he believes that vaccinations should be also be mandated for health care workers, teachers and nursing home workers with no testing option if numbers don’t come down.
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“I am asking them, and suggesting to them, to go to vaccine-only admission,” Cuomo said. “I believe it’s in your business interest to run a vaccine-only establishment.”
He stopped short of asking that another set of mask mandates be set forward in the state. That decision will be left with local governments, who are being asked to follow new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last week.
That guidance recommends having fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19. That includes nearly two-thirds of counties in the nation, but none in the North Country at the time of this report.
“It’s up to the local governments — learn the lesson from last year,” Cuomo said. “Don’t deny reality.”
Cuomo said he is unable to impose a widespread mask mandate as he did last year, citing a move by lawmakers to strip him of broad powers to issue pandemic-related rules and restrictions.
The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases has surged in the state in recent weeks. Roughly 2,200 cases are being reported each week according to CDC data, up from about 350 at the beginning of July.
Hospitalizations have nearly doubled statewide during that same period. The number of people being hospitalized in the North Country has remained fairly stable, with no more than six people receiving treatment for the disease in a hospital during a single day.
Health Department dashboards do not provide any data on the vaccination status of those hospitalized with COVID-19.
Nationwide, health officials continue to reiterate that the vaccines have proven effective at preventing serious illness and death from the virus as the delta variant spreads. Less than 0.004% of fully vaccinated people have experienced a “breakthrough” case that led to hospitalization.
