Photo: Gov. Hochul's office
Governor Hochul is defending her order that masks must be worn in all public places unless there's a vaccine requirement in place.
She cites an anticipated holiday spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations combined with the highly contagious omicron variant as reasons for the mask rule. Some county executives have criticized the governor, saying the mandate isn't enforceable because it takes up local health department resources assigned to vaccinations. The governor says she hopes the mask rule will be temporary.