NY Governor Kathy Hochul last week announced a new mask mandate, but it is up to local health departments to enforce it, and some Republican county executives say they absolutely will not. Hochul on Friday announced that she is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor spaces where proof of vaccination is not required, citing New York’s rising Covid-19 caseload as the impetus for her decision. Violations of the new mandate is subject to civil and criminal penalties, including a maximum fine of $1,000 for each violation. One of those Republicans is Rockland County Executive Ed Day, who said the governor’s staff wasn’t even able to provide him with detailed information about the new requirement. “My decision would be to move the people from the health department who are vaccinating children and others right now with a life-saving vaccine, move them to go walk around to different places to figure out whether people are masking up or not. That would be utterly reckless on my part and I will not do that,” Day said. Nassau County Executive-elect Bruce Blakeman called the new mandate a “shotgun approach,” noting that his country is 97% vaccinated. “It is clear that Nassau County is not in crisis and State government should paint us with the same broad brush as the rest of the State,” he said. “I’m hopeful that the State will allow local determination rather than a shotgun approach.” Other counties, including Madison, Niagara, and Rensselaer are also not enforcing the mandate. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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