Governor Cuomo has announced that as of tomorrow, Thursday, June 24, 2021, New York will end the State Disaster Emergency declared on March 7, 2020. He noted that Federal CDC guidance will remain in effect, which includes masks for unvaccinated individuals, as well as all riders on public transit and in certain settings, such as health care, nursing homes, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters. State and local health departments will be ensuring that mask rules and other health precautions are adhered to in those settings.
The State of Emergency declaration allowed the Governor to issue executive orders to assist in the rapid response to the pandemic by state agencies, local governments, hospitals, and businesses by both temporarily suspending or modifying laws as well as utilizing temporary directives.
At this time, we are awaiting further guidance and details on what exactly the end of the State of Emergency will mean and whether all suspensions and modifications are immediately lifted or if there will be exceptions or staggered end dates based on previous executive order extensions. We are also waiting to see whether a final executive order will be issued by the Governor with these final details.
Importantly, some of the executive order suspensions and modifications made permanent by new laws and/or regulations will remain in effect even with the end of the State of Emergency.
We will continue to share any additional information of importance as it is released. If you have additional questions about this update, please reach out to a member of our Government Affairs practice group for assistance: