Facing a winter surge in COVID-19 infections, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that masks will be required in all indoor public places unless the businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement. Hochul said the decision to reinstitute a mask mandate was based on the rising number of cases and hospitalizations, the AP reports. New York enacted a mask mandate at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 that lasted more than a year. The new mask mandate applies to both patrons and staff and will be in effect from Monday to Jan. 15, after which the state will reevaluate.
"We're entering a time of uncertainty and we could either plateau here or our cases could get out of control," Hochul warned at a public appearance in New York City. New York joins several states with similar indoor mask mandates, including Washington, Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, and Hawaii. The news was welcome at the Lake Placid Christmas Co., a shop on Main Street in the tourist-friendly Adirondack village. "Our employees all wear masks, but we stopped requiring all of our customers to wear masks because it was too hard to enforce," said manager Scott Delahant. "Quite frankly, I got sick of arguing with people."
The state recorded more than 68,000 positive tests for the virus in the seven-day period that ended Wednesday. That's the most in any seven-day stretch since the start of February. The surge is especially pronounced in portions of upstate New York, which has accounted for nearly three-fourths of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in hospitals since August. Thirty-two upstate hospitals had to suspend scheduling nonessential elective surgeries starting Thursday because of capacity issues. "We are heading upward in a direction that I no longer find sustainable," Hochul said. Violators could face civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000. Local health departments will be in charge of enforcing the requirements.
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