/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/JEUL2B5V7BJCFMRTKGOS3ZSN4Y.jpg "Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ law breaches international rights standards – European rights body")
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/DYF5BFEE4JNPJLNCVUO65UKU6U.jpg "The curious case of a map and a disappearing Taiwan minister at U.S. democracy summit")
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/UF7R3GWJGNMQBMFSDN7PJNRJ5Y.jpg "Blinken touts deeper U.S. engagement amid concern over ‘aggressive’ China")
Credit…Karsten Moran for the New York Times
When New Yorkers run into a store for a quick purchase on Monday, they’ll have to look out for a face mask again. A new nationwide mandate requires masks in all indoor public spaces that do not require proof of full vaccination against the coronavirus.
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the mandate on Friday, which runs until January 15, when the state will reassess. Companies that do not require customers to be masked could face civil and criminal penalties, including fines of up to $ 1,000 per violation, and local health officials are responsible for enforcing them.
New York City, which has 71 percent of its residents fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, already requires proof of at least one dose of coronavirus vaccination to eat or watch a movie indoors. But masks are now also required unless full vaccination is required in these and all other indoor public places, including offices, shops, and lobbies of residential buildings.
Individuals are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second vaccination with two-dose Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or their first vaccination with a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children aged 5 to 11 years old only need to show one dose across the state to be admitted in places that require full vaccination, the state said.
Given that former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo lifted most of the virus-related restrictions in June, including the requirement to wear masks in most environments, the new mandate is likely to be a big change, especially in some rural and more conservative ones Areas of the state.
The new move comes at a time when the nation is facing a surge in Covid-19 cases and scientists are unsure of the impact of the arrival of the Omicron variant. The seven-day average of new Covid cases in the US was 119,325 per day on Saturday, a 40 percent increase in just 14 days. In New York state, the Saturday average was 9,716, an increase of 51 percent over 14 days.
New York City has also seen a sharp surge in cases since Thanksgiving, with an average of more than 2,600 new cases per day, according to city data, up from an average of less than 1,500 per day three weeks ago. Regions in New York State are even more affected. About 30 hospitals in the state have been ordered by the governor to suspend elective surgery to ease the burden.
A handful of district leaders, many of them back country Republicans, were skeptical of the mandate, some even vowing not to enforce it. Ms. Hochul turned to her on Monday and said, “I encourage the district leaders, especially those who ask for my help, to help alleviate the crisis in their health systems, review their own actions and see what is left . “They can do to be a better partner.” She noted, “This is kind of self-induced.”
On Sunday, Ms. Hochul was asked about the mask mandate at a briefing in Hamburg, west of New York, about the damage and power outages caused by storms the night before.
“Just wear a mask,” said Ms. Hochul and added: “I know that tomorrow is a big day; it doesn’t have to be that big of a deal. It really doesn’t. I’m just asking people to do something that is consistent with common sense, which we believe will help save lives and ultimately contain infections. “
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s top advisor on the pandemic, also urged people to wear masks when indoors with people whose vaccination status is unknown.
“The masking won’t last forever,” he said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, “but it can get us out of the very difficult situation we are in now.”
New York City had already planned to tighten food and entertainment rules for children ages 5-11 from Tuesday to get one dose to enter restaurants and theaters, and one dose for adults from December 27th switch from one vaccine to two except those originally given the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine. But the new mandate of the state replaces these two rules for the time being.
A comprehensive coronavirus vaccination mandate for all private employers in New York City goes into effect on December 27th.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that the city plans to educate and work with business owners on the introduction of the new state mask mandate, rather than emphasizing fines and enforcement. For weeks he has been resisting calls to implement a city-wide mask mandate, despite the rise in cases, for fear that this would weaken the city’s vaccination-focused strategy.
“This city’s strategy was first and foremost vaccination, and it will continue to do so,” said Mr de Blasio in a press conference on Monday. “But we will work with the state to implement this mask mandate. We have found that we achieve very good results when we communicate with companies, treat them with respect and a spirit of cooperation. “
Grace Ashford contributed to the coverage.
Juston Jones and
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/12/13/world/covid-omicron-vaccines
