NY Order To Allow Businesses To Deny Entry For Not Wearing Mask

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday said he will sign an executive order allowing businesses to deny entry for people who aren't wearing a mask.

"When we talk about reopening stores and places of business, we’re giving store owners the right to say, 'If you’re not wearing a mask you can’t come in,'" Cuomo said at his daily briefing in Flatbush, Brooklyn. "That store owner has the right to protect themselves. That store owner has the right to protect other patrons in that store."

Do you agree with the order? Let us know in the comments.

Videos posted on social media have shown people yelling at store patrons for not wearing a mask. Cuomo said he believes his order will lead to fewer conflicts.

"You don’t want to wear a mask, stay on the sidewalk," he said, noting the issue has mainly been seen with young people.

He was joined Thursday by actors Chris Rock and Rosie Perez, who both joined the governor in urging people to wear masks and facial coverings to help prevent the virus from spreading.

The state has given more than 8 million masks across New York City, including to the city's public housing authority, food banks, churches and homeless shelters, Cuomo said. State officials are partnering with the health care giant Northwell Health to bring more health care services to communities most impacted by the virus, which tend to be in minority, lower-income neighborhoods, and with people who are at home and not working. These places often have an existing underlying health care disparity and lack masks, as well as social distancing, particularly among young people, Cuomo said.

Efforts targeting these neighborhoods include increased diagnostic and antibody testing, more personal protective equipment and more health care services for people with underlying illnesses.

The governor said deaths, hospitalizations, intubations and intensive care admissions of the new coronavirus continued to trend downward in New York. The number of people who died of COVID-19 remained at 74 on Wednesday, Cuomo said. That includes 52 in hospitals and 22 in nursing homes.

The number of new, daily hospitalizations fell to 163.

Below are test results for some of the highest-impacted communities.