The state of emergency declared in New York at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic expires Thursday and will not be renewed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.

“We know where we are. We are past the day-to-day monitoring of COVID,” Cuomo said.

The governor declared the state of emergency on March 7, 2020. He has been asked to lift it after most pandemic-related restrictions were lifted last week after the state reached a 70% partial vaccination rate.

He said CDC guidance, like masks being recommended for people not vaccinated, as well as in health care settings, prisons, schools, homeless shelters and public transportation should still be followed.

Local governments can still enforce those recommendations in those settings, Cuomo said.

Luke Parsnow - New York State Politics Digital Content Producer

Luke Parsnow is the New York state politics digital content writer and producer at Spectrum News 1. He is an award-winning writer and political columnist and previously worked for CNYCentral in Syracuse and The Post-Star in Glens Falls, New York.