BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz says the county will follow New York State's lead about wearing masks in public facilities.
This news comes as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to make an announcement on Wednesday about the statewide mask mandate. At this time, the mandate is scheduled to end on Thursday; however, the governor has not yet indicated whether or not it will be extended.
Erie County has its own separate mask mandate in place for all indoor public locations. But, according to Poloncarz, the county will follow the governor's decision regarding the mandate.
In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Poloncarz said in part, "Erie County will follow Governor Hochul's lead regarding mask wearing in public facilities. If she continues NY's rule so will we; if she ends it ours will end as well."
Poloncarz added that this decision will be made as new COVID-19 cases continue to decline, adding that hospital bed capacity in the county have stabilized.
You can read Poloncarz's full statement below:
"The nearly two-year fight against COVID-19 and its variants has been difficult and protracted but it appears better days are ahead as the Omicron variant wave is coming to an end. When I issued my Emergency Order on November 23, 2021 requiring masking in facilities open to the public, new Delta variant COVID case rates were skyrocketing and our hospitals had less than ten percent total bed capacity available.
"Today, thankfully, new infections have dropped tremendously and hospital bed capacity rates have stabilized, there being nearly 20 percent of all hospital beds in the county available today. While these are positive and encouraging signs, a cautious, fact-based approach has always been most prudent and we will remain vigilant while monitoring this data in days and weeks to come.
"With this in mind, Erie County is prepared to follow the lead of Governor Hochul as she updates the public on New York State’s stance on masking in tomorrow’s announcement. If the Governor rescinds the statewide mandate on masks, Erie County will follow suit and my Emergency Order issued on November 23, 2021 requiring masking in public facilities will be allowed to lapse and Dr. Burstein’s Commissioner’s Order on the same will be rescinded in alignment with the state’s position. If the governor should continue her statewide mask requirement, we shall follow suit and continue our requirement for consistency with the state’s rules.
"Finally, if the governor should rescind her statewide mandate on masks, in order to ensure a safe working environment for county employees and our guests, the Emergency Order issued by me on July 29, 2021 requiring masks to be worn by all employees and guests in county-owned facilities shall be continued through the end of the month of February, at which time we will reconsider the need for such requirement based on the then designation of whether the county is at a low, moderate, substantial or high risk of COVID transmission, as those terms are defined by the CDC."