Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday extended for two more weeks a mandate requiring masks in indoor public places.
As Long Island braced for a potentially major blizzard, Hochul, speaking in Melville, said she has decided to continue the mandate because, while COVID-19 indicators are improving, they still do not warrant lifting the regulation.
The mandate is now extended until Feb. 10, at which time Hochul will reassess the situation and decide if the mandate should be extended longer.
The state will re-evaluate the measure every two weeks, she said. It had been set to expire on Tuesday.
The mandate requires people to wear masks, unless the indoor location requires proof of vaccination. Restaurants, gyms, theaters and other places are affected by the regulation, but Suffolk and Nassau county officials repeatedly have said they’re not enforcing the mandate.
Several dozen demonstrators gathered outside the state Department of Transportation’s facility in Melville protesting vaccine and mask mandates, as Hochul and local and Long Island Rail Road officials talked about snowstorm preparations.
COVID-19 cases and positivity levels have declined from record levels fueled by the omicron variant, but remain at relatively high levels.
Long Island is seeing about 1,700 new daily cases a day, she said, while New York State registered 13,592 on Thursday.
Across the state, 171 people died on Thursday of causes linked to the virus.
The state’s school indoor masking mandate, set to expire Feb. 21, is the focus of a court battle. A State Supreme Court Judge in Nassau County this week ruled the mandate is illegal, arguing Hochul and the state health commissioner do not have the authority to impose it.
That led many school districts to declare Tuesday a mask-optional day, with some students attending school without a mask for the first time in a year and a half.
But the state Appellate Court issued a “stay,” or temporary suspension of the decision, so by Wednesday the mask mandate was back in place.
On Friday, attorneys were to submit their latest arguments to the court as the case continues. A decision is expected next week.
With Lorena Mongelli
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