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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that as of Thursday, June 24, the State of Emergency will be lifted as the state went from one of the COVID-19 hotbeds in the world to the lowest infection rate in the country.
“The State of Emergency expires tomorrow, and it will not be renewed,” Cuomo said during a COVID-19 briefing in Manhattan on Wednesday, June 23. “It will punctuate the end of the emergency we’ve been in because New Yorkers and essential workers rallied.”
Cuomo said that CDC guidance will still be in effect, including mask requirements for unvaccinated New Yorkers, as well as on public transit, homeless settings, and certain other settings. He noted that local governments can also choose to continue mandating masks, which he said he encourages.
“The emergency is over, but the CDC guidance still stays in effect,” he said. “But now it’s time for New Yorkers to go get a vaccine and get on with life. Go out of the house … Go see a movie … See a concert … Go root for the Islanders. What people do is a major factor in bringing the economy back quickly.”
Cuomo praised New Yorkers for their diligence during the pandemic, noting that without essential workers, the state was in danger of collapsing due to the virus.
“We were on the brink of a catastrophe and chaos, so we can’t underestimate the lessons of COVID,” he noted. “There was no magic to it. It was the phenomenal efforts of the essential workers and it was the effort and intelligence of New Yorkers that got us here.”
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