Hochul declared in December that masks will be needed in all indoor public places in the state unless the businesses implement a vaccine requirement. The move came soon after the emergence of the Omicron variant.
State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker announced that the state Department of Health did not have the legal authority to implement the mandate—and should have been approved by the state Legislature.
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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo created the mask mandate in the early phases of the outbreak, citing emergency powers. The mandate was dropped for those who were vaccinated in June 2021. Fox 5 NY reported that Hochul announced her mandate\ would be in effect for at least a month. Then earlier this month, the Health Department explained the mandate would be in place until February 1.
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Hochul issued a statement obtained by Fox News that announced it is her responsibility to defend New Yorkers and the measures "help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives." She announced she will fight the decision.
Reuters pointed out that Rademaker wrote that his conclusion did not plan to take sides in the mask debate, though he wrote that "enacting any laws to this end is entrusted solely to the State Legislature."
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"Should the State Legislature, representative of and voted into office by the citizens of New York, after publicly informed debate, decide to enact laws requiring face coverings in schools and other place places then the Commissioner would likely be well grounded in properly promulgated and enacted rules to supplement such laws," he wrote.
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"My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives," Hochul said in a statement.
"We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately."
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The ruling comes amid a sharp spike in COVID cases.
An Omicron-variant-fueled wave of cases is washing over the nation's most populous city, which acted as a nightmarish test case for the country early in the pandemic. While health officials say there are important reasons why it's not spring 2020 all over again, some Broadway shows have suddenly canceled performances.
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"It's disappointing that we haven't developed a better system for this and that we weren't better prepared for there to be another wave," Jordan Thomas stated Monday in her fourth hour of waiting for a test at a city-run health clinic near downtown Brooklyn.
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