Hochul defends state mask mandate against critics. Some counties refuse to enforce it
Governor Kathy Hochul laid out her reasoning for the statewide mask mandate Tuesday, as about a dozen counties push back and say they won’t...
Dec 14, 2021 — Governor Kathy Hochul laid out her reasoning for the statewide mask mandate Tuesday, as about a dozen counties push back and say they won’t enforce it.
Hochul said the number of coronavirus cases statewide has spiked 58% since Thanksgiving. Hospitalizations are up 70%. But only 2% more New Yorkers have gotten vaccinated during what she called another holiday surge.
Hochul said the indoor masking requirement is an effort to keep the numbers of new cases from escalating so high that economic shutdowns become necessary.
"This is about getting through this pandemic, so we can finally say to everybody, you no longer have to wear a mask. Period," Hochul said. "That vaccines will be so routine for everyone that you won’t think twice about it, just like any other vaccination that has saved lives since they were invented decades and decades ago."
Hochul said she had gotten the support of the New York State Association of Counties before issuing the mask-or-vaccine-proof mandate last Friday.
At her briefing, she invited testimony from small business owners around the state, including Traci Vicory-Rosenquest, owner of Chapter One coffee in Plattsburgh.
"Our customers have been very respectful about it," Vicory-Rosenquest said at the briefing via Zoom. "It’s important as a mom, and it’s important as a business owner for my employees to be safe and protected and for my customers as well."
Hochul responds to mandate critics
Under the policy, businesses, restaurants, and entertainment venues must require that all patrons either wear masks, or all customers prove they are fully vaccinated before they can enter.
The plan calls for counties to enforce the mandates. But over the weekend rebellion spread, and by Monday at least 12 counties said they will not be enforcing the mandate. Some county leaders also complained that the new mandate was hastily devised and announced and that three days was not enough time to prepare for the changes.
Hochul defended the mandate rollout, saying she fully informed county leaders in a phone call to the state Association of Counties about the details beginning last Thursday.
“Including a call that to the head of the Association of Counties that I placed myself, who said they support what we are doing,” Hochul said. “And they understand it.”
And she called out county leaders who have publicly opposed the mandates, including Dutchess County executive Marc Molinaro and Nassau County executive elect Bruce Blakeman, saying they are trying to score political points at the expense of public health.
“We have to get a point of rational discussion about this, and it’s not about scoring political points or getting headlines to call out the governor on an issue,” Hochul said. “That doesn’t effect a single thing I do.”
Hochul says the majority of county leaders, who represent 73% of the state’s population, do back the mandates.
Hochul was joined by selected local leaders and business owners who back the mandate, including the Mayor of Oswego, Billy Barlow, in Central New York. He says the hospitals in his region are close to capacity.
“The mask mandate does strike a fair balance,” Barlow said. “Between protecting our citizens and allowing business to safely stay open and operate successfully.”
Thirty-two hospitals across upstate are currently restricted by the state health department from performing elective surgeries because their bed capacity is less than 10%.
The governor spoke on the one-year anniversary of the first New Yorker, and the first American, to receive the vaccine. Sandra Lindsay, a nurse and the critical care director at Long Island Jewish Medical Center received her first dose on national television.
Hochul said if more New Yorkers had followed Lindsay’s actions, and received their shots, she would not have to impose any new mandates to fight the spread of the virus. One year later, just over 70% of state residents are fully vaccinated despite the vaccine being widely available for the past several months.
