New York Gov Kathy Hochul (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

In an afternoon address, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would make masks mandatory for anyone entering public schools and wanted to implement a requirement that all school staff either be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing.

“None of us want a rerun of last year’s horrors with COVID-19,” Hochul said. “Therefore we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening.”

She also pledged quick action to unstick an application bottleneck that has kept federal aid money from flowing to renters who suffered financially because of the pandemic.

Hochul, a Democrat and 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 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.”