End of NY Indoor Mask Mandate has not led to Rise in COVID Cases, Hochul said

By Yehudit Garmaise

The end of NY’s indoor mask mandate for businesses, has, so far, not led to a rise in COVID cases in the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported this morning at a briefing about the upcoming storm.

In addition, COVID hospitalizations have come down rapidly in the last several weeks, and New York's hospitals will resume performing elective procedures.

Gov. Hochul likely will decide in early March whether to end mandatory masking in schools, she said.

"I'm going to keep my eye on any global trends that are there," Gov. Hochul said, who continues to promote programs that seek to vaccinate young and old New Yorkers.

"New Yorkers who have gotten vaccinated to protect themselves and others during the COVID-19 pandemic should be very proud of our progress," Gov, Hochul said. “The vaccine is our best weapon to fight this pandemic. The more New Yorkers who get vaccinated: the faster we can continue our path to recovery."