Gov' fess on NYC masks
Gov. Hochul all but admitted Tuesday that the Big Apple doesn’t need her controversial mask mandate due to its success in battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a news briefing in Manhattan, Hochul was asked about state data showing that the New York City region has the lowest rate of disease transmission in the state and whether she’d consider a more “targeted” approach to forced mask-wearing.
“Well, this is not — there’s very little difference between what we’re doing and what New York City has already done,” she said.
“So if New York City had been — had not had taken their own steps, then we would have absolutely had that surgical approach.”
Hochul added: “And I would have looked at the numbers and seen [hospital] bed capacity, which is pretty good here in New York City; watching that closely. Infections were not high.”
Hochul added: “I want to make sure that I offered flexibility. Flexibility. The result is still good. I want everybody vaccinated, but for those who choose not, I wish they would . . . We’re just simply saying, a mask. But when it comes to other policies, I do plan to make it more surgical based on what’s going on there,” she said.
Masks are now required in city schools, on mass transit and in health-care facilities under orders from Mayor de Blasio, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Department of Health, respectively.
But de Blasio has not mandated masks elsewhere in the city and last month advised New Yorkers only “to get those masks back on” in indoor, public places.