Cuomo ordering all New York state workers to be vaccinated or face testing

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Wednesday he would be requiring all New York state workers to be vaccinated or face regular COVID-19 testing.

“New York State will mandate all state employees either be vaccinated or get tested regularly,” Cuomo tweeted.

“We are working with the state unions to implement this program quickly & fairly. Will take effect by Labor Day,” he added. 

#BREAKING: New York State will mandate all state employees either be vaccinated or get tested regularly.

We are working with the state unions to implement this program quickly & fairly. Will take effect by Labor Day.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 28, 2021

Cuomo’s decision comes days after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) implemented a similar requirement for city workers.

Cuomo is placing a stricter vaccine requirement on state hospital workers to get the vaccine, with no option to opt out, and submit to regular testing.

“Our healthcare workers carried us through this pandemic—and we owe it to them to do what we can to keep Delta under control,” he tweeted Wednesday.

“NYS will require patient-facing healthcare workers at State hospitals to get vaccinated to help keep both patients and workers safe,” Cuomo added.

Our healthcare workers carried us through this pandemic—and we owe it to them to do what we can to keep Delta under control.

NYS will require patient-facing healthcare workers at State hospitals to get vaccinated to help keep both patients and workers safe.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 28, 2021

The new requirements come as the delta variant is causing COVID-19 cases to rise across the country, with mostly unvaccinated individuals hospitalized or dying from the variant.

The governor is encouraging local governments in the state to place similar requirements on their local government workers.

Cuomo’s move comes as President Biden is also expected to announce plans to require federal workers to be vaccinated or submit to regular testing.