Judge Leaves New York Indoor Mask Mandate in Place, for Now

A New York appeals judge left the state’s indoor mask mandate in place Tuesday while Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration appeals a lower court’s decision to overturn it.

Judge Robert Miller granted the state’s request for a stay of a Long Island judge’s ruling Monday that the governor and health officials lacked authority to require masks.

Arguing before Miller Tuesday, Judith Vale, an attorney for the state, said Judge Thomas Rademaker’s ruling would “radically disrupt the status quo” and endanger the health of students and staff at schools.

“The order, if not stayed, will allow individuals to refuse to wear face coverings in indoor public settings where the risk of COVID-19 spread is high, including in schools where many children remain unvaccinated against COVID-19,” the state’s court filing said.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Chad Laveglia, vowed to take the challenge “as far as it needs to go.”

“The judge got it wrong entirely. It’s so blatantly unconstitutional to grant a stay whatsoever,” he said.

Ruling in a case brought by a group of parents, Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled on Monday, January 24, that the governor and state health commissioner didn’t have authority to issue a mask mandate without legislative approval.

The mandate “is a law that was promulgated and enacted unlawfully by an executive branch state agency, and therefore void and unenforceable,” the judge said.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said she disagreed with the ruling, and Attorney General Letitia James tweeted Tuesday morning that her office would challenge it.

“We’re appealing last night’s decision that struck down the mask mandate in New York. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect New Yorkers from #COVID19,” James, a Democrat, tweeted.

The state had initially instituted a mandate in April 2020 that required people to wear masks in most indoor settings outside their home. That rule ended in June 2021 for vaccinated people. Hochul announced in mid-December, as COVID-19 infections surged in the state, that it would go back into effect for at least a month. Earlier this month, the state health department said the mandate would be in place until Feb 1.

The rulings come as the omicron wave that gripped New York state appears to be easing. The state averaged around 23,400 new cases of the virus per day in the seven-day period that ended Sunday, down from 74,600 per day during the wave’s peak in early January. Hospitalizations are dropping, too, declining 17% statewide in the past seven days.