The newly sworn-in governor said she also plans to require all school personnel to either get vaccinated or get tested weekly.
. Hochul listed several issues she plans to prioritize in her first days as governor, many of which pertain to the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19’s highly transmissible delta variant.
“Your priorities are my priorities, and right now that means fighting the delta variant,” she said. “None of us want a rerun of last year’s horrors with COVID-19. Therefore, we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening.” Hochul said her first priority is making sure children can attend school in person and in a safe environment. She said she will immediately direct the state Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering a New York school. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking for the new school year.