Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the stay-at-home order for New York residents through May 15 during the coronavirus pandemic. The Democrat is reminding everyone in the state that the requirement to wear a mask while out in public begins Friday at 8 p.m.
Cuomo says the stay-in-place orders and businesses and school closures will remain in effect for another month. While the daily death toll, at 606 Wednesday, is down from previous days, 2,000 more people were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and 17,735 are still in the hospital with the disease. The governor says he’s received some blowback on the requirement, announced Wednesday, that masks will be required while out in public starting Friday evening, but he says health experts now believe that they help reduce spread of the virus.
“I’m sorry it makes people unhappy” said Cuomo. “I do not consider it a major burden. And it really is a simple measure that can save lives.”
The masks will be required where social distancing is not possible, as well as on public transportation, like buses or subways, and while driving or riding in an Uber or Lyft car.
