ALBANY — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 9 that the statewide mask-or-vaccine requirement for indoor businesses that went into effect Dec. 13 would be eliminated starting Feb. 10.
“We are not where we were in early December. New Yorkers did the right thing to get through the winter surge, and we can now lift the statewide mask-or-vaccine requirement for indoor businesses,” Hochul said.
“The numbers are clear; We’re seeing major improvement on the key metrics we’ve been tracking throughout the pandemic: Overall cases are down; Positivity rate is down; Hospitalizations are down; Hospital capacity is up; Vaccines and booster rates are up,” Hochul added in a Tweet.
Counties, cities and businesses can still choose to require masks, and the statewide mask requirement remains in effect at schools and childcare centers, correctional facilities, state-regulated adult care facilities, nursing homes and health care centers, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and public transportation operations such as buses, trains, subways and planes as well as the stations that house its passengers.