After NY’s mask fight, what’s to come for vaccine, testing mandates?

The chaotic fallout from a court battle over New York’s indoor mask mandate has fueled politically charged debate over the future of COVID-19 restrictions on daily life.

After a state judge struck down the mask mandate last week, schools and businesses scrambled to adjust policies before an appeals court issued a stay that kept the mandate in place during the appeals process.

Amid the legal drama, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced New York would be extending the mask mandate for businesses through Feb. 10, citing the lingering threat of outbreaks from the highly contagious omicron variant.

The saga also joined growing calls for Hochul’s administration to more clearly define how and when pandemic-related measures overall will be relaxed — or lifted entirely.

Beyond the mask mandate, similar policy clashes abound in coming months, spanning from mandatory COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated state workers — which could cost taxpayers up to $60 million — to potentially imposing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for school-age children.

Hochul, however, has declined to set specific criteria for future pandemic policy, noting she would monitor trends in COVID-19 vaccinations, cases and hospitalizations. Her decisions, she said, would be based on the latest data and science.

“I don’t want to keep any requirements for safety in place a day longer than necessary, but I will not do it a day before we can do it safely,” she said last week.