(East Farmingdale, NY)- Late Monday night New York State filed an appeal to the Supreme Court ruling which deemed masks mandates unconstitutional. Monday evening several Long Island school districts including but not limited to Massapequa, Levittown and Sachem, notified parents, teachers, students and staff that mask wearing would made optional.
New York State Attorney General Letittia James tweeted on Tuesday “We’re appealing last night’s decision that struck down the mask mandate in New York. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect New Yorkers from #COVID19.”
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statement Monday night saying, “My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.”
On Monday night Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman tweeted “BREAKING: A NYS Supreme Court Judge has ruled that the Governor’s mask mandate is illegal. The Governor and State Education Department have NO authority to enforce this mandate without the approval of State lawmakers. This is a major win for students & parents.”
The 7 day COVID-19 positivity rate on Long Island has continued to decline in recent weeks, now at 11.67% according to Data from the New York State Department of Health.
Photo: Demonstrators gather at New York Freedom rally, protesting vaccine and mask mandates before New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delivers her State of the State address at the state Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)
