NY Holiday Vaxx-or-Mask Mandate: 4 HV County Execs Won't Enforce

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Four out of six of the Hudson Valley's county executives say they refuse to enforce New York's be-vaccinated-or-masked mandate for residents visiting businesses or public venues over Christmas.

Basically the rule between now and Jan. 15 is that unless a business or venue requires people to show proof of vaccination to enter, everyone there must wear a mask. Local health departments are tasked with enforcement. Gov. Kathy Hochul said action was necessary over the winter holidays as COVID-19 has been surging since Halloween and Thanksgiving.

"I have warned for weeks that additional steps could be necessary, and now we are at that point based upon three metrics: increasing cases, reduced hospital capacity, and insufficient vaccination rates in certain areas," she said Friday.

Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell said it was unrealistic to ask health department staff to enforce such a rule because they are busy vaccinating people. Also, she said, "Now, in the midst of the holiday season, business owners are facing numerous operating issues including supply chain and hiring difficulties. We cannot expect them to implement this unrealistic order."

Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said it was not only unenforceable but would become confrontational. "As we educate and inform residents to take the necessary mitigation steps to protect themselves and those they love, we will not escalate tension or conflict or further burden our local small businesses by allocating resources we do not have to this impractical and unenforceable measure," Molinaro said.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day was furious about the state's unilateral move. "We have seen this movie before," he said. "Once again, we are left fielding questions from our citizens that have no answers; an incredibly frustrating situation caused solely by poor communication from New York State and Governor Hochul."

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus said his health officials and staff are already overtaxed — several local nursing homes have so many people seriously ill with COVID-19 that the National Guard has been deployed to help. Also, he said he was concerned that the state could send their own inspectors in, and promised local business owners he would let them know if that starts to happen.

On the other hand, Westchester County Executive George Latimer said his administration would comply, adding he found the short-term mandate "far less restrictive than a shutdown of our businesses."

"Westchester County will do our professional best to enforce this mask provision. At this point, this is the best move to protect the health of New Yorkers, and to protect the health of the New York State economy," Latimer said. "it is an action that shows leadership and restraint."

While Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said he would work with the state on the holiday mandate, over the weekend focused on something else: keeping the local economy running despite surging COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The Ulster County government will distribute 33,000+ rapid at-home tests directly to residents at no cost, he said on Facebook.

Neuhaus, in his talk about the holiday mandate, said Orange County residents should be aware that the average age of residents testing positive for the coronavirus is 34 and the county's positivity rate is above the state average.

Neuhaus was the only county executive who, in his response to the mandate, asked residents to be respectful of one another over the holidays.

"If you go to a restaurant or retail and they ask you to wear a mask, wear a mask. That's their prerogative," he said. "This is a tough time, it's a tough position to put people in. I encourage people to continue to live their lives, continue to shop, continue to go to restaurants, continue to have your holiday parties. Just be a little cautious. And be understanding. People wearing a mask the whole time or people social distancing — be respectful of that."

State officials responded to county executive opposition on Monday.

“While the Commissioner’s determination leaves enforcement up to local health departments, we are confident that businesses and individuals will comply with these protocols in order to keep themselves and their communities safe," state health department officials told Patch.

Hochul said in her Monday COVID-19 briefing:

So there's a difference of opinion. I do have faith in New Yorkers. I believe the vast majority want to do what's right. They want to put this pandemic behind us. They want to make sure we'd never have to go back to the days of [being in] in lockdown. We couldn't go to work. You couldn't go to schools, you couldn't go to worship on a weekend. And so we're not going to do that.

And I said, very strongly, this is all about two things. Protecting the health of New Yorkers and the health of the economy. And I believe we accomplished that. So I do hope that the businesses will enforce this and that individuals will understand how important it is.

It's a temporary measure, as long as people follow it. And I wanted to make sure I gave some very clear guidelines on how that's going to be executed. It's not indefinitely. It gives a lot of options for businesses, those who already have [have a] requirement of vaccination [for people], no one has to wear a mask and that's their call. ...

There are 62 counties that comprise the great state of New York. I would say that the majority understand how important it is, certainly the majority of the population is, which is important to me. They understand the importance of this and our understanding that it's also a, a very simple temporary measure, which is completely driven by our need to get this under control as we approach the holiday season so I don't have overflowing beds, like I've seen in other parts of the state.

I just arrived back from surveying storm damage in Western New York. We had to literally send in the National Guard and nurses from downstate to help relieve the pressure in hospitals that are desperately in trouble. That is all because of unvaccinated individuals occupying beds, because they've been diagnosed with COVID and the symptoms became so much worse that they had to have medical attention in the hospital.

And to me, that is a shame because it's keeping someone out or creating more stress on a hospital system that should not have that stress after what they've been through for the last two years. So this is self-induced in one sense, and I encourage the county leaders, especially those who are asking me for help to help alleviate the crisis they have in their hospital healthcare system, to look at their own actions and to see what else they can be doing to be a better partner, to help reduce those cases by enforcing this.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include responses from Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York's acting Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett.

SEE ALSO: New COVID-19 Mandates For New York As Surge Hits Hudson Valley