New York State’s Mask Mandate Will Stay in Effect During Court Appeal

(Bloomberg) -- New York's requirement that masks be worn in schools and businesses that don't screen for vaccination will remain in place while a state court considers a challenge to it.

The New York State Supreme Court ruling comes after a brief whipsaw last week that saw the mask mandate upended by a Long Island judge before being temporarily reinstated the next day. Governor Kathy Hochul's administration imposed the mandate in December in response to rising Covid-19 cases.

The legal dispute began when parents who objected to the requirement in schools sued Hochul and the state's Health Department. The department's order, which is set to expire Feb. 10, mirrors regulations that have been imposed at the local level, including in New York City -- where masking rules predating the state's would remain in effect anyway. In a reflection of the country's political division over masks, several New York county leaders from Republican districts have said they wouldn't enforce the requirement. 

Monday's ruling is part of a wider, state-by-state legal battle over masks and vaccination. In Republican-led states like Texas, governors have rejected statewide mask mandates and fought local rules as well. Hochul imposed the mandate as the case count rose in Democratic New York, which has been among the first and hardest hit by the virus and the variant waves that have followed. Masking to curb the spread of the coronavirus is strongly recommended by federal health authorities and fiercely opposed by many who call it excessive.

Read More: New York Fights Back After Mask Mandate Shot Down by Judge 

The mask-wearing rule for all indoor public places was issued Dec. 10 by the state's health commissioner at Hochul's urging, around the start of the omicron surge of the coronavirus pandemic. The parents who sued to block the mandate argued they should be permitted to make health care decisions for their children, saying the kids sometimes become lightheaded while wearing masks. The infection rate among children is low, making the mask rule unnecessary, they said.

Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled Jan. 24 that Hochul and Health Commissioner Mary Bassett had overstepped their authority, saying the governor should instead seek the passage of a law. 

“While the intentions of Commissioner Bassett and Governor Hochul appear to be well aimed squarely at doing what they believe is right to protect the citizens of New York, they must take their case to the state legislature,” Rademaker wrote.

New York filed a notice of appeal last Monday. The following day New York State Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Miller temporarily halted Rademaker's order until the panel could rule on the state's request for a longer stay while the court considers its appeal.

On Monday a panel of appeals court judges stayed the order until the appeal is decided, on the condition the state file court papers by March 2.

The case is Demetriou v. New York State Department of Health, 616124/2021, New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County (Mineola).

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