New York will 'strongly encourage vaccinated people to wear masks inside but WON'T force them': De Blasio and Cuomo will give updated guidance today amid spike in Delta cases Cuomo and de Blasio are both expected to give new advice on Monday at two separate press conferences Neither wants to bring back an indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people like other leaders including California's Gavin Newsom Instead, they have so far leaned towards vaccine mandates for indoor dining Cuomo is encouraging businesses to enforce their own vaccine mandates It comes as Delta hospitalizations and deaths among unvaccinated people rise New York City and NY state have fully vaccinated 67% of people aged 18 and above Nationwide, 67.5 percent of those eligible have had at least one dose and 58.1% are fully vaccinated By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com Published: 13:59 BST, 2 August 2021 | Updated: 14:02 BST, 2 August 2021 Viewcomments New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo are both expected to give updated mask guidance today, strongly encouraging vaccinated people to wear them indoors but neither is expected to reinstate an indoor mask mandate. The mayor said last week that he would issue new guidance on masks on Monday in light of the CDC changing its advice for vaccinated people amid a spike in COVID-19 cases that is being driven by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. Cuomo will speak at 9.30am and de Blasio will speak at 10am to give updated advice. Cuomo has ultimate control over what happens in New York City and can overrule de Blasio, a fact he reminded people of repeatedly last year while the pair sparred over the best response to the crisis. Cuomo lifted all New York state COVID restrictions on June 15, declaring: 'We can go back to life as we knew it' in what many considered was him declaring an end to the pandemic. To date, Cuomo and de Blasio have been aligned in their position on masks for vaccinated people, saying they'd rather introduce vaccine mandates than face covering mandates but it's unclear if that will change in light of the CDC changing its guidance last week. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo will both give updated advice on masks for vaccinated people on Monday On Friday, de Blasio said: 'It's all about vaccination. 'What I announced last week, public employees, we need mandates. Private sector, public sector. We need mandates. 'The whole ball game is vaccination. That is part of what is crucial to me as we announce the approach to masks- not to lose the forest for the trees. 'The main event is vaccination. Masks can be helpful and we're going to delineate to New Yorkers the best way to use masks, but that doesn't change the basic reality. Vaccination does. 'We want to make sure everything we do doesn't distract from vaccination,' de Blasio said on Friday during an appearance on CNN's Newsroom. Some New York City institutions, like Broadway, have already announced that they will make guests wear masks. Broadway is also only allowing vaccinated people in to shows. Right now, masks are not required indoors in New York City unless the business enforces it as a rule. People are pictured dining at a restaurant on the Upper West Side recently This CDC map shows how Delta is spreading across the country. Southern states and states on the West Coast are seeing the highest number of cases This map shows how hospitals are faring across the country. Dark blue shaded areas have the lowest number of available beds and those being hospitalized are mostly unvaccinated The trend is the same in New York City. Cases are on the rise thanks to Delta but deaths and hospitalizations are low Cuomo has previously encouraged private businesses to require proof of vaccine status before allowing people indoors. It comes amid research that shows while vaccinated people are far less likely to become gravely ill with COVID-19, they still can contract and transmit it. With half of the country still unvaccinated, it is causing a spike in hospitalizations and deaths in some parts of the country where vaccination rates are low. In Austin, Texas, there are now just 7 ICU beds left across the city because others have been filled by unvaccinated COVID patients. New York City has not, however, seen an uptick in hospitalizations or deaths, despite cases being on the rise in Delta variant cases. New York state and city workers have until Labor Day to get vaccinated or they face rigorous testing requirements. The same rule has been adopted by other states. In New York City, de Blasio is also offering $100 to people who get their first shot at a city-run site. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility