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New York governor plans to end the state's indoor mask mandate for businesses, NYT reports
Gov. Kathy Hochul's announcement comes a day before vaccine and mask mandates are set to expire across the state.
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(CNN)New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will end the state's strict Covid-19 mitigation requirements for businesses Wednesday, three people briefed on the decision told The New York Times.
The mandate requires businesses to ask customers for proof of vaccination or for them to wear masks indoors, except when eating or drinking.
CNN has reached out to Hochul's office and other stakeholders for comment.
Earlier Tuesday, Hochul said she planned to make an announcement Wednesday regarding mask mandates for businesses, one day before it was set to expire across the state.
The announcement comes as the Omicron wave that swept across the US in the last few months has started to recede, prompting many state officials to pull back on Covid-19 mitigation measures.
Hochul issued the mask-or-vaccine requirement for all indoor businesses in December 2021 as the Omicron variant caused a large increase in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. That wave of new cases peaked about a month ago and has since receded.
The vaccination or mask requirement for businesses was put in place "when we first saw the early signs of this Omicron could be wildly contagious," she said.
"It certainly was, and so we put in some protections in place to help our workplaces and help employees and customers," she said.
Two weeks ago, a judge struck down the mandate, saying the Department of Health did not have the authority to put it in place, but an appeals court judge allowed it to stay in effect.
Other states have started lifting their mask mandates. Oregon's health department announced the state will remove general mask requirements for indoor public places no later than March 31. School mask mandates will also be lifted March 31, according to CNN affiliate KATU-TV.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state's indoor mask requirement will expire February 15, though unvaccinated people will still need to wear masks indoors.