New Yorkers will soon be required to wear face masks in public to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he is planning to sign an executive order making it mandatory that those traveling in public wear a face mask.
“I’m going to issue an executive order that says all people in public must have a mask or nose covering — mouth and nose covering, and they must wear it in a situation where you cannot or are not maintaining social distancing,” he said during a press conference.
“If you’re going to be in public and you cannot maintain social distancing, then have a mask, and put the mask on when you are not in socially distanced places,” Cuomo added. “You’re walking down the street. You’re walking down the street alone. Great! You’re now at an intersection, and there are people in the intersection, and you’re going to be in proximity to other people — put the mask on.”
The masks will be required for public transit travel and for traveling in densely populated areas. The governor noted that law enforcement officials will give residents a three-day grace period before fully cracking down in the event some don’t have masks readily available.
New York has been the American epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in recent weeks. There have been more than 600,000 confirmed cases in the United States, with more than a third of them in New York, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
