Outgoing NY Governor Andrew Cuomo issues statewide mandate ordering ALL hospital and long-term care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19

In one of his last major directives while in office, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated on Monday that all health care workers in the state be vaccinated against COVID.

The State Department of Health, according to the announcement, will issue special orders to all privately-operated hospitals, long term care facilities and nursing homes in the state to develop policies that all employees must receive their first vaccine dose by September 27.

So far, roughly 75 percent of the state's 450,000 hospital workers, 74 percent of the state's adult care facility workers and 68 percent of the state's 145,000 nursing home workers have been vaccinated, Cuomo's office reported. 

He cited the emergence of the Indian Delta variant as the main consideration behind the mandate. It has driven daily positives up 1,000 percent over the past six weeks, he said, and over 80 percent of new cases have been the result of the highly contagious variant. 

A spokesperson for Cuomo's office told DailyMail,com that the details of consequences for businesses or workers that refuse the mandate were still being worked out.  

Outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced his resignation on Tuesday amid a sexual harassment scandal, is mandating that all health care workers statewide receive at least one vaccine dose by September 27

The announcement comes as coronavirus infections have climbed statewide since the end of June

Daily positives in the state have been driving up more than 1,000 percent over the past six weeks Cuomo announced 

The mandate comes as incoming Gov. Kathy Hochul said Thursday that she would implement mask mandates in the state's schools if infections continued to rise 

Cuomo, who announced his resignation amid scandal last Tuesday, said incoming Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is set to take office next week, had been briefed on the mandate prior to the announcement.

He is stepping down after a report by the state attorney general released earlier in the month found he had sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo denies those claims. 

Hochul has already said she would consider face covering mandates in New York's schools if Delta infections continued to grow, in a bid to keep children in classrooms instead of returning to remote learning.

'I believe there will end up being mask mandates. I just don't have the authority right now,' she told the  Today Show on Thursday. 

'I believe this is going to be the way we have to go in order to create an environment to get children back to school and that is going to be my number one priority: children have to be back in school.' 

It is the latest in a slew of vaccine mandates from officials both in New York state and New York City aimed at driving up vaccination rates. 

Statewide, 58.4 percent of New York's total population of 11.4 million has been fully vaccinated, according to the Department of Health, while in the city, 56.4 percent of its 8.3 million population has been fully vaccinated.

The mandates come amid a push to get more people vaccinated in New York. Pictured: a student at a Staten Island high school received a vaccine shot on August 10 

Statewide, 58.4 percent of New York's total population has been vaccinated, with the regions in darker blue having higher vaccination rates

In his announcement Monday, Cuomo hinted that private businesses and public schools might also be required to have their employees vaccinated.  

'I have strongly urged private businesses to implement vaccinated-only admission policies, and school districts to mandate vaccinations for teachers,' he said. 

'Neither will occur without the state legally mandating the actions -- private businesses will not enforce a vaccine mandate unless it's the law, and local school districts will be hesitant to make these challenging decisions without legal direction.'

The announcement comes after city and state vaccine mandates directed at public employees. 

On August 2, Cuomo announced employees for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority working at New York facilities will need to be vaccinated by Labor Day, or otherwise submit to a weekly Covid-19 testing. 

On July 28, he announced that all state employees and patient-facing employees at state hospitals also be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Labor Day. 

In the latter instance, public hospital workers do not have the option of testing out of the vaccine requirement, and the same now goes for private health care workers. 

Customers and workers will have to show proof that they've had at least one dose of a vaccine under plans to pressure New Yorkers to get a shot, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on August 3 

Already in place are mandates in New York City that all workers at city-run health facilities be vaccinated or face suspension without pay, which Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on July 21. 

The policy went into effect on August 2. On July 26, it was expanded to include all of the city's 300,000 public employees, with a deadline for vaccination set for September 13.

While the state may still be mulling vaccine mandates for private businesses, de Blasio on August 3 mandated that public venues such as restaurants, gyms and theaters require customers show proof of vaccination or otherwise be turned away.

The policy went into effect on Monday, but inspections won't begin until September 13.

With enforcement details sparse, its announcement was met with confusion.

The moves come as the entire country has seen a rise in infections, with a seven-day moving average of 114,190 new Covid-19 cases recorded last week, an 18.4 percent increase over the previous week

It'll fall largely on businesses to enforce the policy, and de Blasio claims it won't be too different from a host guiding someone to a table or a box office clerk selling a ticket.

Other vaccine mandates include California's announcement on August 11 that all public school teachers will need to be vaccinated, and the City of Los Angeles called for customers at all retail establishments, not just public venues, show proof of vaccination.  

The policies come as infections continue to climb nationwide. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded a seven-day moving average of 114,190 new Covid-19 cases, an 18.4 percent increase over the previous week. 

The Delta variant, the agency said, now accounts for 97.4 percent of new cases.