'No mask - No entry': Cuomo issues executive order for New York reopening
Unlike in Israel, there is no specific requirement in New York stating that citizens must wear protective masks in open public spaces.
By ZACHARY KEYSERNEW YORK Governor Andrew M. Cuomo holds his daily COVID-19 press briefing at the New York Stock Exchange, May 26, 2020(photo credit: DARREN MCGEE/OFFICE OF GOVERNOR ANDREW M. CUOMO/TNS)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order on Thursday that allows store owners to turn away any customer who enters the premises without wearing a face covering, as the city continues to curb coronavirus restrictions in public places.Unlike in Israel, there is no specific requirement in New York stating that citizens must wear protective masks in open public spaces."We're giving the store owners the right to say if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in. That store owner has a right to protect themselves, that store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store," Cuomo told a daily press briefing on Thursday."No mask - No entry."As of press time, New York has reported 369,883 cases of the coronavirus, and registered 29,339 deaths as a direct result of the viral spread."You don't want to wear a mask — fine," Cuomo said at the daily briefing. "But you don't have a right to then go into that store if that store owner doesn't want you to."Comedian Chris Rock and actress Rosie Perez made a surprise appearance at Cuomo's daily news conference to underscore his message that the public should wear masks to help curb the coronavirus spread.The celebrities, both of whom grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, said they would take part in public service campaigns urging New Yorkers to take the pandemic seriously, wear masks and take other steps to prevent the spread of the sometimes fatal virus.Rock said he was seeing about 40 percent of people in Brooklyn wearing masks."It’s the kids who really aren't wearing a mask, and you know, it’s sad," he said. "It’s sad that our health has become, you know, a sort of political issue ... It’s a status symbol, almost, to not wear a mask."
Perez briefly spoke in Spanish."To mi gente, wear a mask, please," she said. "The numbers in our communities are staggering. This is not a joke. This is not a hoax. This is real."The strict March shutdown and shelter-in-place orders for New York, the most severely affected state in the US, are slowly being lifted by region.Its reopening moves began in mid-May in several upstate areas that were largely unaffected by the surge of cases in the New York City area, and extended to areas along the Hudson River and Long Island on Tuesday and Wednesday, all with social distancing and other restrictions.Construction can resume and retailers may offer curbside pickup or open their doors with capacity limits in those areas.Drive-in movie theaters were among a handful of outdoor, low-risk businesses allowed to reopen statewide on May 15, and state beaches reopened for Memorial Day weekend. Reuters contributed to this report.
