Syracuse, N.Y. — Compliance with a new New York state mask mandate for indoors that started Monday varied at area businesses.
Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard visited more than a dozen businesses and found generally about only about half the customers were wearing masks. Most employees, however, were wearing masks.
Many people at Destiny USA mall were seen not wearing masks this morning despite the mall saying it would require all customers to wear masks. In a walk around the mall, more than 50 people were seen without masks, including four workers.
Mall spokesperson Aiden McGuire told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that customers without mask would be asked to put them on. This morning, no one could be seen asking customers at the mall to put a mask on, other than at a few individual stores.
At a McDonald’s in Cicero, no customer was wearing a mask.
At other places, such as Wegmans in DeWitt or Walmart in East Syracuse, most people were seen wearing masks. At Walmart, there was a box of masks who walked in without one.
At the Lowe’s in Cicero, mask wearing was almost split evenly among the customers, with a few more not wearing a mask.
One Wegmans shopper, Tim Jakubiec, from Rome, was wearing a mask.
“I’m ok with it because they’re basing it on infection rates,” Jakubiec said.
For Jakubiec the mask-wearing is something he does to protect his daughter who was in town from Rome for cancer treatment.
“I can’t bring it to her,” he said. “She’s immunocompromised right now.”
At Destiny, LuluLemon, Aerie, and Sephora had workers stationed at the doors asking customers to put on masks. BuildABear Workshop and Old Navy had signs stating masks were required but customers were seen being served without masks on.
Vinne Gullotto, a Destiny USA shopper, was there to make a return and tackle his Christmas shopping. He was not wearing a mask.
“Everyone’s going to get Covid,” Gullotto said, about his decision to not wear a mask.
Gullotto said he had Covid before he was vaccinated and a second time after his vaccine shots. He said the vaccine helped his symptoms the second time around.
Despite not agreeing with wearing a mask Gullotto said he understands when workers in stores ask him to wear one.
“It’s politics,” Gullotto said. “It’s not the workers, it’s not them. You can’t get mad at them.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the new mask mandate Friday in response to rising levels of Covid and increasing hospitalizations.
Since Thanksgiving the statewide seven-day average Covid case rate has increased 43% and hospitalizations have increased 29%
The mandate will remain in place until Jan. 15, when the state re-evaluates whether it’s still necessary based on conditions.
Masks must be worn in all indoor places unless businesses or other venues require patrons to show proof of vaccination. The indoor mask requirement applies to all people ages 2 and older.
New York lifted a statewide mask mandate in June as vaccination rates increased and Covid cases fell significantly.
Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
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