De Blasio says indoor mask mandate not needed despite Delta variant

New York City does not “intend” to require masks indoors as the Big Apple sees an uptick in COVID-19 cases amid a highly infectious variant surge, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

“No. Simple answer: no,” de Blasio said Monday morning during his daily press briefing, when asked if the city would reinstitute a face-covering mandate for the unvaccinated and vaccinated in indoor spaces, following a vocal local politician calling for one. “Masks have value, unquestionably. But masks are not going at the root of the problem — vaccination is.”