New York mandated indoor masks to combat the spread of the new omicron variant of the coronaviruses, but other governors have said they won't impose new mask requirements in response to the new strain as it takes hold in the U.S.
A man walks past a sign in New York that requires face masks.
The Xinhua News Agency is pictured.
Businesses that don't comply with New York's mask mandate could be fined $1,000.
Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico have indoor mask mandates in effect for people who have not been exposed to the vaccine.
Connecticut already requires masks for people who are unvaccinated, but will not be following New York's example, according to the governor.
The governors of Massachusetts and Colorado said on Monday and Friday that they wouldn't reimpose their state's mandates because the vaccines' effectiveness makes them unnecessary.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said on CBS that he would not reimpose a mask mandate.
Some localities in those states have imposed new mandates on their own, including Hamden, Connecticut, and Salem, Massachusetts.
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42%. 34% of respondents in an ABC News/Ipsos poll said they wanted their state's mask mandate to stay the same, while 27% said they wanted the requirements to be more strict.
What to watch for.
As the omicron variant continues to spread, will it spur new mandates? Omicron is expected to become the dominant strain in the United Kingdom within a few days, and experts believe it will overtake the delta strain in a matter of weeks. Early evidence suggests the initial two-dose vaccine series may provide limited protection against the variant, though booster shots may provide more substantial immunity.
The key background.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 28 cases of covid-19 linked to the omicron variant. There is still no data on the severity of the variant, and there are signs that omicron could produce milder symptoms than other strains of the virus. A recent poll suggests that people are not going to stop doing things like dining indoors or gathering with people outside their homes because of concern over the omicron variant.
The New York Enacting Statewide Mandate for Businesses That Don't Have Vaccine Requirement is aForbes story.
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