Mask Mandate Changes Could Come Soon For New York County

It looks like another change to the mask mandate in New York will be coming soon.

According to a Tweet from Erie County Executive Director Mark Poloncarz the county is looking at possibly lifting the mask mandate for county facilities.

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The mask requirement could be lifted if current cases and positivity rates drop to below 3% and the county drops from the "high risk" category for transmission or if the county is above 3% positivity but the county moves to "moderate risk" for transmission.

New York state lifted its mask mandate for indoor shopping last month and is going to review the number of COVID-19 cases in schools over the weekend to reevaluate the current mask mandate for schools.

Currently, people inside schools, daycares, nursing homes, and other medical facilities must still wear masks while indoors.

Mark Poloncarz issued a statement via the county's website in regards to the current mask mandate.

“Erie County residents have endured the struggle against COVID-19 and its variants for nearly two years at this point, but there currently are encouraging signs that the pandemic may be reaching its end stages. While a shift to an endemic phase is very welcome, this does not mean the threat is over; rather, Erie County will continue to be vigilant in our review of this still-developing situation and will take future actions as the situation dictates. While this may be the beginning of the end for the pandemic, there are still individuals in our community who are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and we again encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated, get boosted, and continue to practice smart, responsible behaviors for preventing the further spread of the virus.

While Keybank Center is in Erie County, even if the county mask mandate is lifted over the next couple of weeks, New York State still has a test or vaccine mandate that is still in place for facilities with a seating capacity greater than 5,000.