Gov. Cuomo mandates that all New Yorkers must wear masks while in public

ALBANY N.Y. — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday all New Yorkers will be required to wear masks or have their mouth and nose covered while out in public.

The governor said an executive order will require masks or cloth coverings be worn in situations where citizens cannot maintain social distancing. For example, masks will be required on public transit, busy streets, and in grocery stores, among other locations where social distancing is limited.

"Meaning the same thing we've been saying from day one," Cuomo said Wednesday. "If you're going to be in public and you cannot maintain social distancing, then have a mask and put the mask on when you are not in socially distanced places. You're walking down the street, you're walking down the street alone? Great. You're now at an intersection and there are people in the intersection and you're going to be in proximity to other people? Put the mask on."

The governor said there could potentially be civil penalties incurred if there is widespread non-compliance. He said he does not want to go to a penalty system at this point, acknowledging the majority of citizens have complied with social distancing directives. He said if enforcement is needed, it would be handled at the local level.

Cuomo added there will be a three-day notice to allow compliance.

During his daily briefing Wednesday, Cuomo also outlined what steps would be needed to reopen New York’s economy in the midst of the current pandemic.

Cuomo said the state will likely see a phased reopening of businesses that will be determined on how “essential” a business, service or product is, and the potential risk of the virus spreading if that business reopens.

In the past 24 hours, 752 people diedfrom the virus in New York – about 700 in hospitals and 45 in nursing homes. While the state is still seeing close to 2,000 new patients entering the hospital system each day, Cuomo says the numbers continue to trend downwards, and overall hospitalizations continue to remain stable.

“We’re still in the woods,” Cuomo said Wednesday. “The good news is we showed we can change the curve.”

While he says the healthcare system has stabilized, Cuomo said there are still a number of hurdles along the path to reopening the state’s economy. The governor says the state is pledging whatever help it can provide to the federal government to expedite a vaccine for the virus.

Regarding COVID-19 testing, Cuomo said New York has conducted more tests than any other state and is working in coordination with 228 private labs to keep testing efforts organized.

The state’s Department of Health has developed its own antibody test, which the governor said will be rolled out this week. He forecasts up to 2,000 tests will be conducted per day. First responders, healthcare workers and essential employees will receive priority – and Cuomo hopes, should the test receive FDA approval, up to 100,000 tests could be conducted per day.

Cuomo stressed that, at this time, the state does not have the resources to conduct widespread testing, and that federal help would be needed for this to happen.