New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that she is lifting the state’s business mask mandate on Thursday. However, she will still require them in schools for now.
“At this time, we say that it’s the right decision to lift this mandate for indoor businesses and let counties, cities and businesses to make their own decisions on what they want to do with respect to mask or vaccination requirement,” Hocul said. ““That is why we feel comfortable to lift this in effect tomorrow.”
“Positivity rates down and hospitalizations are down, cases per 100,000 are down and new admissions are down,” Hochul said. “So New Yorkers, this is what we’ve waiting for —tremendous progress after two long years.
“We’re not done. But this is trending in a very, very good direction, and that is why we are now approaching a new phase in this pandemic,” she said.
“We want to make sure that every business knows this is your prerogative and individuals who want to continue wearing masks can continue wearing masks,” Hochul said. “And I suspect when I walk the streets of New York City … I’m still going to see a lot of people wearing masks because they will feel safer.”
“We’re not surrendering. This is not disarmament. We’re going to continue to be adaptable and responsive to the changing circumstances,” she said. “But again, the trends are very, very, very positive.
Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware have all also lifted their mask mandates in recent days with Rhode Island expected to follow suit Wednesday afternoon.
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