NY Supreme Court Ruling Has No Impact On Erie County Mask Mandate

Just yesterday, New York's Supreme Court struck down Governor Kathy Hochul's statewide mask mandate, calling it unconstitutional. Today, Erie County Executive Mark Polancarz said that the court's ruling will have no impact on Erie County's emergency mask order.

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Polancarz posted the county's statement on his Twitter page early this afternoon. The statement that he posted reads as follows:

Yesterday, a Nassau County State Supreme Court Judge issued a decision on the constitutionality of an order issued by New York State. The judge did not rule on the merits of a mask mandate, nor on the constitutionality of emergency orders issued by local governments. All local orders, including Erie County's, are still valid because they were issued under a different section of New York’s Executive Law.

Erie County reinstated its mask mandate on November 23rd, which required all public-facing employees and staff to wear masks at indoor facilities which included but were not limited to:

barbershops
bars
beauty parlors
bowling alleys
hotels
malls
office complexes
restaurants
schools
shopping centers
stores
and any other location that is open to the public

Just last week we told you that the Village of Williamsville had received a stipulation from The Erie County Department of Health for allegedly violating orders related to mask-wearing and face coverings during a town meeting and that they were fined $300.

The New York State mask mandate was put in place on On December 10th of last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that masks would be required to be worn in all indoor public places.