MTA, Port Authority Workers Face COVID Vaccine-Or-Test Rule

NEW YORK CITY — A "serious situation" with the highly contagious delta variant requires local governments and private businesses to set strict COVID-19 vaccine mandates and mask rules, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo announced Monday that MTA and New York Port Authority workers will face a vaccine-or-testing mandate similar to another rule set by New York City.

But the rule beginning Labor Day doesn't apply to the wide swath of New Yorkers who Cuomo said need to be vaccinated to stop the delta variant's spread. He urged local governments like New York City's to follow new CDC indoor mask guidance for the vaccinated and set vaccine requirements for public workers.

Cuomo no longer has emergency powers to set those rules himself.

“Right now, this is all up to local governments,” he said. “If they don’t act, then we would be where we were last year, where it becomes a statewide emergency.”

The delta variant of coronavirus is causing significant concern by officials across the country.

The CDC's finding last week that vaccinated people can still spread the delta variant prompted a change in indoor masking guidance. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that the city will strongly recommend vaccinated people to wear masks indoors, but he fell short of setting a firm rule.

Cuomo noted vaccinated people still are less likely to become infected by the delta variant and, if they are, their COVID-19 cases are significantly less likely to lead to hospitalizations.

But he also sketched out a worst case scenario — a large number of unvaccinated people get sick with the delta variant and it mutates into a vaccine-resistant virus.

Vaccinations need to be encouraged to stop this scenario from becoming a reality, he said.

“Everybody has to get vaccinated,” he said.

Cuomo outlined a series of recommendations for local governments and private businesses to fight the delta variant.

Local governments need to issue vaccine mandates for public workers, Cuomo said — a step New York City set last week. He called for mandatory vaccinations for public-facing health care workers at government-run hospitals and other facilities — a step that goes beyond the vaccine-or-testing rule instituted by the city.

He also strongly encouraged private businesses to set vaccination rules.

“Private businesses, I am asking them and suggesting to them: go to vaccine-only admission,” he said. "I believe it’s in your best business interest,” he said.

Everything needs to be on the table if coronavirus numbers don't go down, Cuomo said, including considering a mandatory vaccine for nursing home workers, teachers and all public-facing health care workers.