New York is making plans to help enforce Gov. Kathy Hochul’s statewide mask mandate, including “spot checks” at certain businesses.

People in Huntington tell News 12 that most people they see are following Hochul’s indoor mask mandate.

“This is our policy, the New York state requirement that there be a mask worn in any facility that does not require vaccinations, so that is our rule,” Hochul says. “So, we’re here to continue enforcement as well as providing resources for the counties that ask for it.”

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has said she will not be actively enforcing the mandate, but officials will respond to complaints about violations.

A spokesperson for Suffolk County says enforcement will be centered around educating local businesses and residents about the latest guidance and information.

Dr. David Battinelli, of Northwell Health, says wearing masks indoors will help prevent transmission of the coronavirus.

“This omicron variant is in fact so much more transmissible than even the delta variant, it is more than twice as transmissible as the delta,” Battinelli says.

Battinelli says Northwell Health has seen an increase in COVID patients in the last few months, but not as many as during the height of the pandemic in 2020 and early 2021.

He says people can still catch the disease if they are vaccinated and boosted, but they won’t get as sick as those who are unvaccinated.

The governor says the mask mandate will stay in place until at least Jan. 15 and that the state plans to increase access to testing.