Rockland County Executive Responds to Governors New Mandate, Says He Will Not Comply

Rockland County Executive Ed Day responded to the news that New York State Governor Kathy Hochul would be implementing a new mask mandate on businesses, with a firm No.

Read the full statement below:

We have seen this movie before. Again, and despite reassurances from Governor Hochul after she took office that she would not govern via press conference and would foster and welcome discussion with County Executives today we saw a return to the prior Governor’s playbook.

While other County Executives from the Mid-Hudson region and I were invited onto a call with the Governor’s staff this afternoon, the Governor’s staff was unable to provide detailed information about this newly announced requirement other than that the first week it is in effect should be used for education and not enforcement.

I told the Governor’s staff that we cannot and will not enforce this requirement as it currently stands. How do you enforce something that’s based on a press release that does not contain adequate information and explanation? The Governor has said that this program will be reevaluated on January 15, 2022, but what metrics will be used as part of this reevaluation?

All of these details and more should have been provided to counties ahead of a public announcement so that we could prepare for any actions our staff is expected to take and so that we could in turn provide this information to our local businesses and residents. 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.

Additionally, I cannot and will not in good conscience redirect our Health Department to change their focus from the vaccination effort which entailed six clinics over the last two weeks that administered 141 vaccine doses and 1,244 booster doses. Especially with the 5–11-year-old cohort needing vaccinations and the 16–17-year-old cohort having just been approved to receive boosters. That would be utterly reckless.

Rockland residents are well on the way to protecting themselves from this disease. According to the CDC, 84.8% of our 18+ population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and even better, 95% of our 65+ population has also received at least one dose.

I recently chose to get a booster because I believe these vaccines, when partnered with commonsense hygiene precautions like hand washing and staying home when you are sick, offer the best protection available from this disease. I continue to encourage those with questions or concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines to talk to their doctor about their safety and effectiveness.

Those interested in receiving a vaccination or booster at one of our Department of Health’s upcoming clinics can visit our COVID-19 webpage to make an appointment: https://rocklandgov.com/depa…/health/coronavirus-covid-19/