Some believe less mask muffling a positive step

Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted a state mandate requiring a mask or proof of vaccination to enter indoor public places, including restaurants, stores, gyms, theaters and offices. The dramatic drop in Covid-19 indicators like positive test results and hospitalization data over recent weeks amid the Omicron surge led Hochul to end the mandate, she said at a press conference on Feb. 9.

The mandate required businesses to ask customers for proof of vaccination or for them to wear masks indoors, except when eating or drinking. The emergency temporary measure was put in place two months ago, and was set to expire Feb. 10. Local counties, cities and businesses will still have the individual discretion to mandate masking or proof of vaccination, but it will not be required any longer.

“The good thing about it is people who are still nervous, or worried, they have the right to still wear a mask, it’s just not an issue,” said Ravin Chetram, Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce’s vice president. “What I would like is to see is people work together and not keep fighting, It’s just so tiring.”

County Executive Blakeman issued an executive order in January that ordered county employees not to issue fines to small businesses and other institutions that did not follow Hochul’s mandate. No fines were issued in the county.

Hochul’s decision was seen by some as a major step toward returning to some sense of normalcy as the Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, though some medical experts said it was premature. The governor cautioned that she might reimpose a mandate if Covid-19 indicators jump again.

“We have respected and supported the governor’s mask mandate 100 percent,” said Laura Escobar, co-owner of Hive Market and Makers Space in Oyster Bay. “Since the mandate has been lifted, we continue to have visitors in the shop who walk in wearing a mask. That is their comfort zone, and we respect people’s personal choice. We are a Covid [era] start-up business, so [we] are still navigating the waters as best as we can knowing that keeping everyone safe is our main priority.”

Mask requirements continue in locations such as health care facilities, nursing homes, jails, transportation systems, homeless shelters and schools, or places considered a risk for high-transmission.

Blakeman, who wants the school mask mandate lifted, said that by keeping it in place, Hochul is creating a situation where the only place children would be required to wear masks is in school.

“Think about it, our older school children can go out to lunch at a restaurant that does not require masks, then go inside to class with those same people and have to wear a mask,” Blakeman said. “It makes no sense.”

The recent winter Covid-19 surge, fueled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, has loosened its hold on New York, with daily cases dropping to around 4,000 from a peak of about 90,000 on Jan. 7. While the Omicron variant has proven to cause illness that is less severe than prior variants, the massive number of infections resulted in thousands of Covid-related hospitalizations.

Small businesses and chambers of commerce endorsed the lifting of the mask mandate in downtowns across Nassau, while some haven’t noticed much of a difference at all: pre-mandate or now.

Hochul is facing another major decision next month, when she will decide whether to extend the mask mandate in schools, which was scheduled to expire Feb. 21. Hochul said state officials would reassess the schools’ mask mandate in early March.

Hochul, at her press conference last week, said students would be sent home with kits to facilitate two tests after winter break, which ends Feb. 28. The test results and other metrics will help guide a decision in continuing the mandate or not.