The return of a face mask mandate in New York state is drawing a range of opinions from local leaders.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued the mandate on Friday as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the state. The mandate will go into effect on Monday, Dec. 13.

Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel said he was “disappointed with the rollout of this mandate from Governor Hochul.” Wendel said he also spoke out regarding the previous administration’s mask mandate.

“I was very critical of the previous administration for putting out statewide mandates without first discussing it with the local municipalities, and for putting out mandates without any guidance,” Wendel said. “Gov. Hochul is now doing the exact same thing. She put the mandate out on Friday, it takes effect Monday, and there is no guidance to explain what the mandate will entail. Now I have our Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and residents calling our office asking what this means for them and what do they have to do, and all I can tell them is I don’t know.”

He added, “She expects our local health department to enforce this when they are already overwhelmed with contact tracing, COVID testing, and running vaccination clinics. I have been asking the governor for state help with testing and vaccines in Chautauqua County, and we get no response. We had a plan to issue a masking advisory that we believe would have been more successful than a mask mandate. This mandate will likely anger many of our residents, who now will not wear a mask just to protest against this mandate.”

Dan Heitzenrater of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce asked residents to be respectful of businesses that are trying to follow the latest regulations.

“The Chamber of Commerce has said for some time now that stability and predictability are the best things for our economy and our businesses,” Heitzenrater said. “Getting the pandemic under control is a big piece of making sure that we can continue to stay busy and grow. That’s for the health of our families, communities, and the economy. Even though it’s a very, at times, politically charged issue, we also need to think about not just all of those personal aspects, but also those economic and business aspects if we can get things under control and get the pandemic.”

He added that masking up could save businesses and customers the hassle of having to provide proof of vaccination before entering a business.

“We’ve all dealt with mask requirements before,” he said. “Please be respectful to businesses and their employees who are trying to comply with requirements and keep their doors open to continue to serve people.”

Sen. George Borrello expressed concern over the returning mask mandate. He said the mandate will have an impact on businesses and could cause issues with the general public going forward.

“As before, this mandate will end up being a burden to businesses who will have to police mask-wearing in their establishments, creating the potentially volatile conflicts between patrons and workers that became fodder for news reports and internet videos over the past two years,” Borrello said. “As a restaurant owner, I am concerned for all the front-line staff who will be faced with the challenge of enforcing this mandate. Just as it is in our businesses, it is typically the newest and least experienced workers who are the first point of contact with customers. Expecting them to enforce this mandate is unrealistic and unfair. I believe that free and widely available testing in upstate communities would be a more effective tool for controlling the virus.

“I just returned from New York City where I was struck by the abundance of free, pop-up COVID testing sites, which may help explain their lower infection rates. While we all want to reverse the surge in cases, implementing mandates with questionable benefits simply to give the appearance of taking action isn’t the answer to this problem. I urge the Governor to rethink this strategy and work with us on actions that will make a meaningful difference against this virus.”