[ad_1]
Governor Kathy Hochul, masked up at an event earlier this month.
Photo: John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock
A state judge struck down New York State’s indoor mask mandate on Monday, ruling that Governor Kathy Hochul and state health department officials exceeded their authority in enacting the mandate without the approval of the state legislature. Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker said in his ruling that while the face mask mandate was clearly “well aimed” with good intentions, it was not lawful after state lawmakers last year barred any governor from independently issuing new emergency orders like a mask mandate.
Hochul, in response, quickly vowed that her administration would challenge the ruling. “My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” the governor said in a statement on Monday night. “We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.”
The New York Times reports that both the state attorney general’s office and the state Department of Health say they will appeal the ruling. The state Department of Education also said in a statement that “schools must continue to follow the mask rule,” explaining that the health department’s appeal “will result in an automatic stay that will unambiguously restore the mask rule until such time as an appellate court issues a further ruling.”
It’s not yet clear how school districts and parents across the state will interpret the mixed messages. On Long Island, at least nine school districts already announced on Monday night that face masks would be optional starting Tuesday. While the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the state has been dropping steadily over the past two weeks, the Omicron wave has not subsided, and face masks remain one of the most effective ways to protect against transmission of the coronavirus.
The judge’s ruling does not apply to local mask mandates.
The state’s mandate, which Hochul reinstated on December 13 amid the rising Omicron wave, required all New Yorkers to wear face masks in all indoor public places unless those places required vaccination for entry — and included all New York schools, nursing homes, and public transit. The mandate was set to expire on February 1 if state officials didn’t extend it again.
[ad_2]
Source link
