Feeling a little daring while traveling in the Big Apple? Think about playing “chicken” with the Powers That Be and try riding mask-less on public transportation.
But before setting out, make sure you place a bet with any friend on your chances of getting away with the deed Scott-free.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has set the fine for going without a mask on the region’s public transportation system at a cool fifty dollars. That’s for each time you’re caught without a mask on the rails or the bus.
“We have to be able to say to the riding public,‘Yesm everyone will be wearing masks,” Cuomo told reporters Thursday during a conference call, Newsday reported. “If they don’t have a mask, the MTA will give them a mask to wear. If they refuse to wear a mask, they will be evicted from the system. If they are not wearing a mask, we will enforce the mask-wearing rule.”
So far, the MTA has distributed some four million masks across the system. But “achieving universal mask compliance” is the goal, according to MTA chairman Patrick Foye.
On Wednesday, 336 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in New York City, and 757 new cases of the virus were reported statewide. This is considered a ‘good’ thing, because these numbers are still much lower than they were at the start of the summer; so much so, that New York City restaurants are allowed to resume indoor dining — at least, for now.