New York state set to drop indoor mask mandate

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New York state set to drop indoor mask mandate​

Reuters

Feb 9 (Reuters) - New York Governor Kathy Hochul willon Wednesday announce the end of her state's mask mandate for most indoor public places, The New York Times reported, joining several states due to lift face-covering rules as the latest COVID-19 surge eases.

The Democratic governor intends to let the mask mandate, which has been challenged in court, expire rather than seeking to renew it, the newspaper said, citing three individuals briefed on the move.

It remains unclear whether Hochul's administration would renew or drop a separate compulsory masking rule in New York public schools that is due to lapse in two weeks.

Representatives for the governor did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Hochul called the general mask mandate temporary when she imposed it Dec. 31 as the highly contagious Omicron variant threatened to strain healthcare systems.

Officials in several other Democratic-led states - New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon - announced on Monday that they were lifting mask mandates for schools and other public settings in the coming weeks. read more
In all those instances, authorities cited the receding Omicron-fueled wave of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths that began sweeping the United States during the year-end 2021 holiday season.

But U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Reuters on Tuesday that with cases still high nationwide, "now is not the moment" to drop mask mandates in schools and other public places. read more
The relaxation of masking rules signals an inclination bypoliticians to take pandemic-weary residents off an emergency footing and shift toward treating the virus as part of everyday life.

A New York state judge struck down Hochul's mask mandate last month, ruling she had overstepped her authority.
But an appeals court judge stayed that decision the next day, keeping it intact while the case remained under judicial review.

 

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New York City set to fire 3,000 municipal workers for defying vaccine mandate..​

New York City was poised to sack roughly 3,000 municipal workers for failing to meet a deadline to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The expected dismissals come amid growing discontent in North America against coronavirus restrictions and as states unilaterally lift mask mandates, AFP reports.

New York requires all city employees, including police, firefighters and teachers, to receive at least one dose of a vaccine under orders passed by former mayor Bill de Blasio last year...