Businesses In New York Can Deny Customers Who Don’t Wear Masks

"We are giving store owners the right to say, 'If you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in.'"

New York will allow businesses the right to deny entry to people who aren’t wearing a face mask. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday a new executive order that will allow private store owners to refuse service to people who aren’t wearing a mask. 

"We are giving store owners the right to say, 'If you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in,'" Cuomo said during his Thursday press briefing.

In addition to the executive order, Cuomo announced that New York State will distribute 1 million masks to New York City's hardest-hit neighborhoods. He also announced a partnership with comedian Chris Rock and actor Rosie Perez, who he says will help educate the state on the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask, and getting tested, especially for those most at risk. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that people wear face coverings when around others or going out in public to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But in some businesses, employees have been met with violence after asking customers to comply with a face mask policy.

President Trump has repeatedly appeared in public without a mask, drawing criticism from local officials. Fox News host Brit Hume also mocked former VP and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Twitter on Monday for wearing a mask at a Memorial Day ceremony – and the president retweeted him.

New York, the country’s epicenter for the coronavirus, currently has over 200,000 confirmed cases of the virus, which includes over 16,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Tracker.