Posted on 05/16/21
| News Source: NY Post
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s refusal to follow federal advice by easing indoor mask mandates has sparked confusion — and conflict — among New Yorkers who are hazy on which advice to follow, business owners griped, the NY Post reports.
“Today my second client walked in without a mask. She said she thought it was allowed because the president and the CDC said it was OK for vaccinated people,” David Plasse, a personal trainer who runs Plasse Strength & Fitness in Queens told The Post. “I explained to her, actually we’re waiting for Cuomo to make an announcement. I got her to wear the mask but she was pretty pissed.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the green light Thursday for fully vaccinated Americans to go mask-free inside in most circumstances — but both New York lawmakers refused to sign off, saying they need to “review” the new guidelines.
Plasse, who has about 100 clients but can only allow eight inside the gym at a time due to COVID-19 capacity limits, said he wants Cuomo and de Blasio to get on the same page as the science.
“Clients are sick of wearing masks but, because there has been no official announcement from the governor or mayor, we still have to implement mask regulations. CDC should be the authority but, unfortunately, the governor has the final say in my situation,” he said.
“It’s ridiculous,” Queens Chamber of Commerce President Tom Grech also fumed. “The left hand should be in sync with what the right hand is doing.”
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran urged Cuomo to follow the CDC’s recommendation to go maskless.
“New York State should immediately adopt the CDC guidance that those who are fully vaccinated against COVID no longer need to wear masks or physically distance, indoors or outdoors in almost all circumstances. The vaccine works and our residents need to return to normal life,” said Curran, a Democrat who is running for re-election to a second term this fall.
On Thursday, Cuomo announced that Health Commissioner Howard Zucker — the embattled official involved in the alleged COVID-19 nursing home deaths cover-up — will be tasked with reviewing the updated CDC guidance for the Empire State.
“In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,” Cuomo said Thursday, before then apparently dismissing the science. “We have received the newly revised guidance from the CDC regarding mask-wearing and social distancing for those with vaccinations and are reviewing them in consultation with Dr. Zucker and our partners and health experts in surrounding states.” Read more at the NY Post.