New York’s COVID surge — and masks — are back

NEW YORK — Facing a cold-weather 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 a rising number of cases and hospitalizations, which has been especially pronounced in parts of upstate New York.

New York enacted a mask mandate at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020 that ended in June 2021 for vaccinated individuals. 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.

Mask mandates have become a hot-button issue. For weeks, Hochul has said local governments will decide whether to reimpose COVID19 protocols. She’s expressed caution about whether resistant communities would follow stricter rules.

Hochul’s announcement Friday was cheered by some fellow Democrats and a union representing retail and grocery workers, even as Republicans called it an overreach and an unnecessary burden on businesses.

Violators could face civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000. While Hochul said local health departments will be in charge of enforcing the requirements, Republican Rockland County Executive Ed Day said the governor’s staff was unable to provide detailed information about the new requirement.

“I told the governor’s staff that we cannot and will not enforce this requirement as it currently stands,” Day said in a prepared release.