Judge temporarily restores New York’s mask mandate

Judge temporarily restores New York’s mask mandate

FILE — Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York. The New York State Education Department is telling schools to continue to require masks despite a judge’s ruling overturning the state's mask mandate.  But some school districts already are rushing to drop the requirement.  The Education Department said in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 that the state was appealing the ruling, which could temporarily halt it, and that schools should follow the mask rule in the meantime. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

(AP)- An appeals judge has restored New York’s mask mandate. Tuesday’s ruling comes a day after a lower court judge ruled that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration lacked the constitutional authority to order people to wear face coverings. Judge Robert Miller granted the state’s request for a stay of a Long Island judge’s ruling while Hochul’s office appeals it. The attorney who challenged the mandate on behalf of a group of parents says he will continue to fight. He calls the mandate unconstitutional. Monday’s ruling overturning the mask mandate caused a day of confusion for parents. Some districts quickly announced masks would be optional and others continued to enforce them. 

Photo: FILE — Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York. . (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)