ALBANY, N.Y. (WENY) — The mandate, which was previously set to expire on Jan. 15, is extended for two more weeks. Businesses and other public facilities across New York State will need to require everyone to wear masks, or show proof of vaccination, Gov. Hochul announced Friday.
“When we first instituted this, the trajectory of the pandemic was not what we see we’re seeing now. So we know that we have built-in flexibility. If we saw trends that were not promising or disturbing, which is what we’re experiencing now, that we’d have the ability to activate at least on another two- week period,” said Hochul.
Gov. Hochul said that she did not want to see another state-wide shutdown, and in order to keep the economy going, this extension was the best option for N.Y.
“[We’re] hoping that the picture is much more positive in February, but again, we just don’t have that information right now,” Hochul said.
At the announcement, Gov. Hochul urged New Yorkers to start wearing N95 masks, or double up their face coverings.
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