Mary Bassett

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people in 46 of New York’s 62 counties wear masks in public indoor settings because omicron variants are surging. You can check your county here.

A rally in downtown Rochester on Saturday in support of abortion rights drew hundreds of people to Parcel 5 including a number of state and local officials, including New York State Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett.

Gov. Kathy Hochul says the COVID-19 Omicron subvariant BA.2 is showing up in testing for the virus in New York, but she says, so far, it is not spreading as fast as it has in other European countries and the United Kingdom.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she will make an announcement on Wednesday regarding the state’s mask mandates for businesses, which includes regulations for offices, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

The directive in question was issued by the Cuomo administration by former State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker in March 2020.

The state Senate on Thursday confirmed Gov. Kathy Hochul's choice of Dr. Mary Bassett as New York state’s new health commissioner. She replaces the controversial Dr. Howard Zucker, who left three months after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned.

New York state will no longer do contact tracing when someone tests positive for COVID-19, Gov. Kathy Hochul said this week. The change comes as the state launches a new website to provide guidance on when someone should take a test and what to do if their result is positive.

New York Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett has tested positive for COVID-19, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday during a briefing that documented the worsening situation in the state as the omicron variant multiplies.

Concerns about the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus are growing, as the more contagious strain is beginning to take hold in New York. The state reported 21,000 new cases on Thursday, up more than 40% from the day before, and the highest one-day number since the pandemic began.