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Hochul hints mask mandate may be ending before long

 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking during a COVID-19 briefing on Sept. 30, 2021.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaking during a COVID-19 briefing on Sept. 30, 2021.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul hinted Monday that she may soon end the COVID-19 statewide mask mandate for public indoor spaces. But she says it may not come for another month.

Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that state’s mask mandate for school children will end in mid-March, citing plunging infection numbers.

New York’s current mask mandate for indoor public spaces, including shops, offices, restaurants, and theaters, expires on Thursday. Governor Kathy Hochul says she will make her own announcement before then about the future of the mask mandates, saying she’s encouraged by declining infection rates in New York and fewer hospitalizations.

“I’ll be making another announcement another announcement on Wednesday about one of our mask or vaccination requirements that are in place, and have been in place since early to mid-December when we first saw the early signs that this omicron could be wildly contagious and it certainly was,” Hochul said. “So we put some protections in place to help our workplaces and help employees and customers. So we’ll be having a conversation about that if can just hold onto until Wednesday’s news conference.”

Hochul also hinted, that like the rules change in New Jersey, the mandates might not end right away.

“I’m going to continue to head in that direction. We are hoping to get to that,” said Hochul. “That is our goal. But I am going to continue looking at the metrics.”

Hochul says she’s also looking at the ongoing mask mandate in the state’s schools. She says more children need to be vaccinated before any decisions can be made. She says just 34% of kids 5 to 11-year-olds have received the shots.

Karen DeWitt is Capitol Bureau chief for New York State Public Radio, a network of public radio stations in New York state. She has covered state government and politics for the network since 1990.