The newly sworn-in New York Governor Kathy Hochul, on her
first day at the helm, has indicated that she is going to mandate masks in all
schools in the state.

The Democrat, who succeeded Andrew Cuomo at midnight on
Tuesday, also said that she wants all school staff to be vaccinated or tested
weekly for the coronavirus. She said that she has consulted multiple
stakeholders, from parents to teachers, to figure out how to safely get
students back into school and protect the environment so they could learn.

She said accomplishing this goal requires buy-in from all
levels of government. The state is launching a back-to-school testing program
and she plans to announce additional school-related policies later this week.

Hochul, a former member of Congress from
western New York, took the oath of office just after midnight in a brief,
private event overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.

At a ceremonial swearing-in later on Tuesday morning at the
State Capitol, Hochul promised a “fresh, collaborative approach” in state
government.

“I want people to believe in their government again,”
she said. “It’s important to me that people have faith,” Hochul said.

She noted that she had already begun speaking with other
Democratic leaders who have, for years, complained about being shut out of key
decisions and of being bullied by Cuomo, including New York City Mayor Bill de
Blasio.

“There’ll be no blindsiding; there’ll just be full
cooperation,” she was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Hochul takes over a state that is still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Apart from the mask mandate in schools, she will be under pressure to get federal rent relief money
into the hands of tenants. Little of the $2 billion set aside by the federal
government to help New Yorkers pay off rent debt has been distributed.
Thousands face the possibility of eviction after state and federal protections
expire.

(With AP input)