UPDATE: NY Governor Kathy Hochul said on CNN last night that she is considering a ban on masks.

This is absolutely shameful! New York has suffered so much from COVID, and COVID is not over. We should be normalizing and depoliticizing masks, not banning them.

Source: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/icymi-audio-rush-transcript-governor-hochul-guest-cnn-laura-coates

ICYMI: Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul is a Guest on CNN with Laura Coates

Last night, Governor Hochul was a guest on CNN with Laura Coates.

Governor Kathy Hochul
Pre-pandemic laws banning masks from group events were always harmful. We should have learned from the pandemic that we need to do more to normalize public health tools like masks. After seeing so much death and harm that is continuing, it makes no sense to roll back mask laws.

ACTION ALERT: Contact Governor Kathy Hochul & say that you are against banning masks in NY, & she should issue a statement retracting her comments on CNN supporting a mask ban.

Call: 518-474-8390 (press 1 to leave a message, press 2 to speak to a person)

Write: https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

Governor Contact Form

Governor Kathy Hochul
@luckytran will this only help if you're from/in New York?
@james @luckytran I imagine New Yorkers' comments count more, but those from potential visitors won't hurt!
@luckytran thank you for posting. I'm out of state and was able to use the form to advocate for family residents.
@luckytran she is actually actively trying to kill folks in NYC. Death by car pollution I guess isn’t fast enough.
@atthenius @luckytran Gotta get those bodies out of rent-controlled apartments and into the morgues more efficiently.

@luckytran Called & left message: No mask ban, please. Masks are helping keep school bus drivers healthy, while lots of kids coming aboard are coughing, sneezing, and having all kinds of respiratory issues but get sent to school anyway. Many drivers and attendants who don’t mask up are getting ill, paying a high price for “freedom.”

But what about our freedom of choice—to do the smart thing?

@luckytran used the form. I'm out of state, but have been known to visit NY & made that point
@luckytran this is absolutely unhinged. Mask *bans*?
@luckytran maybe they need “banning” due to all the #MAGATerrorists making threats & harassing everyone?
I was just wondering “why a ‘ban’”?
Pretty F’ing strong for a face mask.

@luckytran This is what I submitted:

I am a native New Yorker, now retired in California. I am living with lung cancer that was caused by post-9/11 toxic exposure as an office worker in Lower Manhattan. I wear a mask everywhere in public. Since Covid began, I do not travel or go to indoor events, all because I am prioritizing my survival. If New York enacts a ban on face masks, people who are immunocompromised like me will pay a dear price. I thought that New York was a better place than North Carolina, which is also preparing to ban face masks. Please reconsider the ban. You can save lives. Thank you.