Report: Mask Mandate Will End In New York State

One of the most popular topics on any form of social media over the last few months and dating back to 2020, have been state, county, and city mask mandates across the country, in response in ever-changing spikes in COVID-19.

There have been states who have recently dropped some mask mandates, such as California and New Jersey, and according to a report from the New York Times, New York will follow in that trend of ending certain mask mandates.

The New York Times is reporting tonight that New York Governor Kathy Hochul will announce tomorrow (Wednesday, February 9th) that the current statewide mask mandate for indoor public spaces, will end.

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The mandate stated that all indoor public spaces in New York State require everyone to wear a mask, except businesses who had a proof of vaccination requirement. The decision was made back in December, when the state was dealing with a huge spike in COVID-19 cases, due in large part to the Omicron variant.

The mask mandate is set to expire on Thursday, and it appears Gov. Hochul will simply let that date of expiration go without an extension.

This does not mean that the separate mask mandate in New York schools will expire, as that expiration date is set for February 21st. That decision has yet to be decided upon.

As for here in Western New York, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, released a statement on Tuesday that said Erie County will follow suit with Gov. Hochul and New York State in dropping its mask mandate.

The mask mandate went into effect for Erie County on November 23rd.

However, employees and guests in county-owned facilities would still have a mask mandate, through at least the end of February.