Facts are facts: Masking exponentially reduces the amount of spread and the resulting hospitalizations and deaths. Study after study has shown 70% reductions in transmission and combined with social distancing 90% reductions. Besides vaccination, masking is the single most effective public health measure to tackle Covid.
With omnicron which may be less severe for the vaccinated on average, it has and can still kill the unvaccinated, and it spreads far more rapidly.
It sheds a viral load up to 70 times the amount that other variants do, making proper masking that much more important, and the need for adherence and enforcement cannot be understated.
New York’s indoor mask-or-vaccine mandate extended to Feb. 1
Published Dec. 31, 2021
New York’s statewide mask-or-vaccine requirement for public indoor places and businesses will be extended to Feb. 1, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday.
The governor introduced the order in mid-December as COVID-19 cases began to rise across the state. It was initially set to expire on Jan. 15. Several counties and local governments had initially expressed their inability to enforce the mandate due to a lack of resources, however the state has since made additional reimbursement funding available to all counties. For those smaller counties such as Chautauqua the funding is up to $1million
"I thank all the counties and also the businesses themselves who have been following this," Hochul said.
Hochul said the order will be reassessed again on Feb. 1.
New York saw another record number of new COVID-19 cases, with more than 76,000 cases reported in the last 24 hours, Hochul also said Friday. Hospitalization remains at dangerously high levels and dozens more deaths have occurred.
Why yes we are, like it or not, all in this together, and we should be doing more, and all we can every day to act like it. A public health crisis such as this pandemic has nothing to do with the individual and everything to do with the public welfare, all of us, the entire community!
Whats Right for Chautauqua County 