New York To Drop In-Door Mask Mandate Following Neighboring States

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will allow New York’s indoor mask mandate to expire on Thursday joining neighboring states which have also dropped mandates.

The decision will save her a bitter court fight. Last week, New York State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled that a mask mandate is unconstitutional.

Rademaker argued that since the state no longer has emergency powers a mask mandate is unconstitutional. His ruling nullified Hochul’s rule amid a rise in cases due to the omicron variant.

Hochul vowed to fight the decision with State Attorney General Letitia James filing a motion to stay the ruling while the state filed a formal appeal. But in a later hearing, Justice Robert J. Miller sided with the state allowing the mask rule to go back into effect temporarily.

The situation has caused confusion among many New York school districts as to whether to require a mask or not. In Long Island, some school districts are following Rademaker’s ruling making masks optional.