New York State Indoor Mask Mandate Begins Monday; If Not Enforced, Business Owners May Be Fined $1,000

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The mandate to wear masks inside any location that doesn’t already have a vaccination requirement takes effect across New York state on Monday.

This comes as nationwide the average number of COVID-19 cases is up 37% from last week, with hospitalizations rising in at least 42 states, CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported Sunday.

READ MORE: Medical Personnel From NYC, Long Island Deployed To Western New York Hospitals To Help With COVID Surge

She was outside the City Point Mall in Brooklyn, where a mix of people walked in with and without masks. Some were not aware that starting Monday a mask will be required to go inside. If businesses don’t enforce it, they could be fined $1,000.

COVID VACCINE

The sign “Face Masks Must Be Worn” greeted customers at the entrance to Big Brothers Hardware in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

“If not, you’ll wait outside. We’ll give you a mask,” owner David Ramnauth said.

Ramnauth said he supports Gov. Kathy Hochul‘s mask mandate, but admitted there is concern upset customers could lash out at his employees.

READ MORE: One Year After FDA Authorized Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine, Cases Are On The Rise

“We try to handle it in a very diplomatic way and talk to them in a very courteous way, say, ‘Sir, do you want a mask? Do you need something? We’re more than happy to work with you,’” Ramnauth said.

Starting Monday, Hochul says all businesses and venues statewide must require masks indoors for everyone, or require proof of full vaccination. The mandate will be in effect at least until Jan. 15, when the governor will reassess COVID conditions.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Rockland County Executive Ed Day said Hochul’s staff asked him on Friday to redirect county health department staff from vaccinations to enforcement of the mask mandate. He said 84% of people 18 and over are vaccinated, and added taking the health department away from the effort would be “reckless.”

“The mask mandate is unenforceable. Unless you want to have police locking people about like they’re doing in Australia, it’s not enforceable,” Day said. “Nobody wants to spend police resources doing that. So they said our health departments are gonna do this. And I said, ‘That is not gonna happen.’ I have a health department right now, who is doing a great job in immunizing people.”

MORE NEWS: Gov. Hochul Orders Indoor Mask Mandate At All Public Places That Do Not Require Vaccination

The state-wide COVID positivity rate is at just under 5%. The governor says around 10% of hospitals in the state don’t have the capacity to handle the surge in cases.