NEW YORK (WWNY) – As of Thursday, businesses will no longer have to require customers to mask up or prove they’re vaccinated.
At a briefing in New York City Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the statewide “mask or vax” mandate is lifting.
But, she also announced, the mask mandate for schools will continue at least through the first week of March.
The business mask mandate is lifting, she said, because of declining COVID-19 infection rates and increasing hospital capacity.
Those sorts of numbers, she said, “are declining on many fronts.”
As for schools, she said COVID-19 test kits will be distributed to parents before the mid-winter break.
Once the break is over, parents will test their children the first day back, and again three days later.
That Friday, March 4, state officials will analyze the results while also looking at other pandemic trends. That’s when they expect to decide if the school mask mandate will continue.
The governor has taken criticism for not setting a specific date for ending the school mandate. Connecticut’s mandate is schedule to end on February 28. New Jersey will end its mandate on March 7.
Hochul said New York’s timeline is similar to the other states’, but she would rather rely on data and science before making a final decision.
She said she mandated masks in school on her first day in office, because it’s better than the hardships imposed by remote learning.
The “mask or vax” mandate for most indoor public spaces was instituted on December 10, when the omicron variant started to take hold in the state. It was originally set to end February 1, but was extended to February 10.
“It was strong action to take at the time,” Hochul said. “We heard a lot about it, but again, I stand behind that as our effort to not have to resort to shutting down businesses when this variant ended up spreading like wildfire.”
Hochul said the seven-day average for positive cases dropped about 93 percent from its peak.
“That is what we’ve been watching for, that is exactly what we’ve been waiting for, that’s what we’ve been talking about — and it’s finally happening,” she said.
Masks will still be required in health care facilities, long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, domestic abuse shelters, and mass transit centers.
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