Hochul: ‘Stricter’ mask policy across NY possible

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC)— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering a statewide mask mandate

During her COVID briefing Tuesday, Hochul said she is currently taking a "wait and see" approach on masking before making any such decisions.

The governor says right now she’s keeping an eye on whether COVID-19 rates peak, drop, or stabilize. She says the positivity rate across the state is currently at 2.44%, but here in the Finger Lakes Region, it’s 4.39%.

She went on to say that she can’t impose a mask mandate similar to what the last administration did when the pandemic first hit.

"Those powers were taken back, or returned to the legislature earlier this summer," Hochul said. "However, I can, I could find ways to make a more strict mask mandate."

While those powers are no longer there, Hochul did call on the New York State Department of Health to implement a mask mandate for schools. A similar mandate is in effect for certain state-run facilities.

Although she didn’t get into any specifics, Hochul says if numbers do rise quickly there are plenty of tools at her disposal.