Push To Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandate In New York State?
It's been just over a month since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most state-mandated pandemic restrictions would end, including indoor mask mandates dropping for vaccinated individuals.
It's been nice to see that life has gotten back to normalcy around the state, including Western New York, but things have gone in the opposite direction lately.
According to WIVB, New York's positive infection rate has nearly tripled in two weeks. The positivity rate was 1.51 percent on Saturday; up from 1.02 percent the week prior and 0.61 percent the week before that.
You may have heard over the weekend, that indoor mask mandates have been reinstated in Los Angeles, California because of the surge in positive cases. People are once again required to wear masks again indoors in Los Angeles, regardless of vaccination status.
Will there be a reinstatement of mask mandates in New York State, though? If one councilman had it his way, the answer would be yes.
NYC Councilman and Health Committee Chair Mark Levine says that New York should follow the lead of Los Angeles.
“It presents a new challenge for us and it probably means all of us even those who are vaccinated need to be a little more cautious, including wearing our mask in crowded indoor venues,” said Levine.
Right now, most places are operating an honor system; giving people the option to not wear masks if they're vaccinated. Those who aren't should continue to wear masks. Levine says that the system isn't working and the new Delta variant is becoming a major problem with the unvaccinated.
There's no word on whether or not New York City or the state as a whole would ever go back to mask mandates indoors, but the future data might determine a decision. Heath experts are urging people who haven't gotten vaccinated to do so.