Governor Orders Mask Mandate As Numbers Spike

Local businesses and their customers returned to mask wearing — some happily, some grudgingly — this week after Governor Kathy Hochul imposed a new mandate for mask wearing in public buildings that do not require proof of vaccination for entry.

Against the backdrop of a 43 percent increase in COVID cases statewide, on Friday, December 10, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that masks must be worn at all indoor public places, unless businesses or venues implement vaccination requirements for access.

The mandate is effective December 13 until January 15, after which the state will reevaluate based on the conditions then. It’s designed to be an added layer of mitigation during the holidays, when more time is spent indoors shopping, gathering and visiting holiday-themed destinations.

“As governor, my top priority is to protect the health of New Yorkers and the health of our economy, and these temporary measures will help us get through the holiday season safely,” the governor said in a statement on Monday. “I share everyone’s frustration that we have gotten to this point, especially with the vaccine at our disposal. I want to thank the millions of New Yorkers who have done the right thing to get fully vaccinated. We are all in this together, and if others will follow suit, these measures will no longer be necessary.”

For many South Fork residents — where seven-day average positivity rates of those getting tested have about mirrored the countywide climb above 6 percent in recent weeks — the new mandate had little impact on their daily lives.

“I’ve more or less always worn one when I’m someplace there’s a lot of people,” said Meredith Jantzen as she entered the Bridgehampton King Kullen on Tuesday afternoon. “And I’ve been wearing them more just around the last few weeks. It’s not so bad, really, right? And better safe than sorry.”

Some didn’t know the difference — literally.

“Oh is it?” remarked Beth Gilan, who was putting on a paisley decorated cloth mask as she approached the store, when asked about the new requirement. “I didn’t even know. I always wear it. Doesn’t hurt. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Others saw the requirement as unnecessary “meddling” by government.

“Stupid,” is all Kevin Jones scoffed as he dramatically pulled off his mask, which had barely been over his face to start with, as though being freed from a chokehold after exiting the King Kullen. “It’s all bullshit.”

Some business owners said that they had been having their employees wear masks since the start of the pandemic to protect their own health

“We’ve been keeping up on the mask thing the whole time, so it’s nothing new for us,” said Henry Hildreth, owner of the historic E.A.&H. Hildreth Inc. Department Store in Southampton Village. “Everybody wants to be protected. Wearing a mask, it’s the least you can do if you don’t get the shots. To grumble about it is ridiculous.”

Michael Cinque, who owns Amagansett Wines & Liquor and is a partner in Sag Harbor restaurants LT Burger and Sag Pizza, said that his employees have been wearing masks throughout. “We’re all masked up right now,” he said Tuesday from the liquor store. “It’s a rule that is protecting all of us, so we’re all for it. So far, so good.”

Official support for the mask mandate locally has been solid. East Hampton Town and Southampton Village had re-imposed mask mandates at government buildings last month.

Politics has become the an over-arching factor for some, with detractors of the mask requirement coming primarily from one side of the aisle.

U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin, who is seen as the favorite to be the Republican nominee for next year’s gubernatorial election, released a statement almost immediately after Hochul announced her plans to impose the masking requirement, denouncing the step.

“The only way to describe Hochul’s approach to governing is consistently inconsistent,” he said in the statement released by his congressional office, which also criticized the governor’s order to halt elective medical procedures at 32 hospitals in regions where hospitalizations have spiked. “Day after day, she constantly moves the goal posts for New Yorkers who are desperate for a return to normalcy and want the government to no longer assert so much authoritarian control over their daily lives and freedoms.”

Nassau County Executive-Elect Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, said he will not have the county enforce the mask mandate, a prerogative that the governor’s decree allows for.

Desperate to return to normalcy or not, South Fork residents have flooded into COVID-19 testing sites in recent days. On Monday morning, a surge of cars overwhelmed the testing site at East Hampton Town Hall, stringing a line of vehicles out onto Montauk Highway. There were also long lines at both testing sites in Southampton Village.

East Hampton Town has booked appointments for more than 1,000 vaccination shots this month and next — some appointments for mid-January are still available — at small clinics being held in the Town Hall meeting room.

Unlike prior mask mandates, the new mandate offers an option: vaccination. The mandate does not apply to buildings where proof of vaccination is required to enter.

New York City restaurants have been operating under a vaccination mandate for all indoor dining since the spring. The city now has the lowest average positivity rate of any region of the state. Just two local restaurants, both in Bridgehampton — Pierre’s and Almond — have imposed vaccination requirements locally.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc said that he hoped more restaurants would adopt such a policy and said he would think it would be good for business as residents once again grow wary of indoor gatherings.

“I think there are some restaurants that if they had that policy, they’d have more business,” he said. “People are uncomfortable and, out here at least, I think the number of people who are vaccinated outnumber those who are not now. I know I’d be more comfortable eating somewhere that required vaccination.”

Cinque said that he’s considered the step, but found that policing the vaccination proof is too onerous for a small restaurant and he’d rather just have the customers wear their masks while they are moving through the restaurant.

Meanwhile, in Europe this week, tighter vaccination mandates for people over 65 go into effect in France. They have to get booster shots if they want access to such public spaces as cafés, gyms, cinemas and theaters, as well as large gatherings such as concerts and sporting events.

Southampton Town Public Safety and Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy told the Town Board on Thursday, December 11, that infection statistics from the county the previous week were “disappointing, but not terribly surprising.”

Most recent figures saw Southampton averaging between 23 and 24 new COVID cases per day, with Suffolk County tabulating almost 500 new cases per day. The local figures contrast with the lows of 8 or 9 new cases per day in past six to 10 months.

“We had been down to single digits,” Murphy recounted.

Long Island as a whole was reporting a positivity rate of 6.9 percent, he said. By comparison, a year ago, Suffolk’s positivity rate was 5.2 percent on December 5. It surged to over 8 percent by mid-month, when the first doses of vaccine were being administered to hospital staff and first responders, and neared 13 percent by year’s end.

Of the higher rates, he said, “obviously that’s not where we want to be,” but since the pandemic began, the trends have shown increases related to holidays, times when people traditionally gather.

In terms of Southampton Town officials implementing any local restrictions, he noted the town will rely on the Suffolk County Department of Health, state officials, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance on any new restrictions or reversions to shutdown-caliber mandates.

What constitutes fully vaccinated, Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni wondered. The term has not been medically defined on the federal level to include booster shots yet, Murphy said, though it may be. A lot of people are coming up on a year since their second shot now, he noted. Vaccines don’t protect forever, he underscored, asserting, “You can’t be two years out from your second shot and still check a box.” Currently the CDC considers a person fully vaccinated if they’ve received the recommended doses of the vaccine.

Even mild cases of COVID can have long-term effects, Supervisor Jay Schneiderman noted, encouraging community members to get vaccinated and continue safety protocols like masks and social distancing.

“It’s better not to get it at all,” he said.