New York Won’t Force Counties to Comply With Mask Mandate

New York Governor Kathy Hochul undermined her own statewide mask mandate on Monday by revealing that she would not force counties to comply with the mandate.

“We have left this to the counties to enforce. We hope that counties will enforce it,” Hochul told reporters. “We expect that they will, we hope that they will, it’s in the best interest of public health. But it also comes down to individual businesses doing the right thing as well. We’re asking businesses to protect their customers and to protect their employees.”

“We have left it to the counties to enforce, so counties can choose not to enforce. But we hope counties are enforcing,” @GovKathyHochul says about the mask mandate

— Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) December 13, 2021

But several counties had already announced their intention to not enforce the mandate, including Rockland, Madison, Niagara, Livingston, Rensselaer, and Chautauqua counties.

“I told the Governor’s staff that we cannot and will not enforce this requirement as it currently stands. How do you enforce something that’s based on a press release that does not contain adequate information and explanation?” Rockland County Executive Ed Day, a Republican, said.- READ MORE