Niagara County Issues Strong Statement On Not Having Mask Mandate

In case you missed the news on Monday afternoon, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced that starting at 6 am on Tuesday morning (Nov. 23rd), residents 2 years of age or older must wear a mask in all public indoor places, regardless of vaccination status. All employees also must wear a mask while they are working.

This part of a tentative four-plan from Erie County and the Health Department, which calls for vaccinations for all eligible residents. Phase three calls for capacity restrictions. Phase four calls for shutdowns.

This comes after a spike in COVID-19 cases. The positivity rate had doubled over the last four weeks.

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Many wondered if Niagara County would implement a mask mandate, but shortly after Erie County announced theirs, Niagara County Chairman Becky Wysysh says that Niagara County would not have a mask mandate re-issued.

“While we are certainly concerned about rising COVID-19 numbers in Niagara County, we are not implementing any mandates at this time,” says Wydysh..  “First, unlike Erie County, Niagara County is not under a state of emergency and has not been for months.  This means any decision on new COVID-19 restrictions would require a vote by the Legislature in consultation with our Director of Public Health.”

The statement goes on to say.

“I can say safely say that at this time, a majority of the Legislature does not support any such mandates.  We believe businesses, employers and other institutions across Niagara County should implement the safety protocols that make sense for their particular operations.

You can read the full statement below.