State Mask Mandate Remains in Effect Through Feb. 10 as Cases Recede
Even as COVID-19 cases across the area and the state continue their sharp decline, Gov. Kathy Hochul last Friday renewed the public indoor mask mandate statewide at least through Feb. 10.
Hochul said the state is on the right path but urged New Yorkers to get through the first part of February to make sure the virus has been put on its heels.
“If we continue on this rapid trend downward, we’ll be in a good place,” the governor said. “If it levels off or something else happens, I need that flexibility and I’m going to continue to reserve that. But also, people are waiting to hear when some of these restrictions can be lifted. And so we’re going to continue with our flexibility.”
Statewide cases on Sunday fell to 5,115, a dizzying but welcome fall from the just over 90,000 cases on Jan. 7. The statewide positivity rate was at 5.6 percent, down from 8.5 percent, a week earlier.
Hochul pointed to the COVID-19-related hospitalizations at 7,191, a strong improvement from about 12,600 during the height of the surge earlier in January, but not low enough to start loosening restrictions.
Deaths, which are a lagging indicator, continue to spike with single-day statewide Omicron totals as high as 171 last week.
Continued vocal opposition to Hochul’s mask mandate seemed to tick up a notch after early last week when a state Supreme Court justice in Nassau County struck down enforcement of the mandate. However, the state on appeal was able to get a stay of that decision, at least temporarily.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said Monday he believes that sometime during the month of February the mask mandate will be lifted, provided the reduction in new transmissions continues its downward trend.
“The numbers are getting to the point where the mask mandate will most likely be lifted (during February) or modified in some behavior,” Latimer said. “It may stay in effect on mass transit but lifted for everyday indoor settings.”
He announced that his emergency order for Westchester will remain in effect through the end of February and likely not have to be renewed beyond that. The order doesn’t mandate anything in particular but it highlights the urgency to heed public health officials’ precautions to the public, Latimer said.
The sharp decline in cases seen throughout the state has been evident locally. Westchester, which had been over 20 percent during the height of the Omicron surge, fell on Saturday to 3.9 percent before ticking back up to 5.6 percent for Sunday.
Active cases are at 6,000 as of Saturday, just one-sixth of the number that had been recorded about three weeks earlier, Latimer said.
The county recorded 324 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, just under half the Omicron-fueled high of 677 on Jan. 10.
Like the rest of the state, deaths have been spiraling. From Jan. 3 until last weekend there were nearly 200 virus-related deaths in Westchester, and with an average of five to seven fatalities every night over the past week, it appeared likely the county would reach that number by the end of Monday evening.
By comparison, there were just seven COVID-19 deaths countywide throughout the entire month of November and 60 in December.
Latimer said the best protection is getting vaccinated if a person hasn’t already done so, and a third shot, if eligible for a booster.
“I think it’s once again reinforcing the fact that the Omicron variant for those who have gotten the disease – I have, (Deputy County Executive) Ken (Jenkins) has, others have – when you’re vaccinated it’s a mild case; when you’re not vaccinated it’s as serious as any other variant.”
In Putnam County, Sunday’s infection rate dipped to 3.6 percent, down from 7.3 and 6.6 percent on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Hochul said she believes that the downward movement of the caseloads is at least in part due to New Yorkers wearing masks in public.
“That has been a critical tool in driving those numbers down,” she said. “They could be even more out of control, but we’re going to continue doing this not by months, not by three months, we’re going to do it every two weeks now. So we can be ready to suspend, give businesses the notice they’ve been waiting for.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
