NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statewide mask mandate on Friday, ordering the use of face coverings in all New York businesses that do not require proof of vaccination, as the state grapples with a winter wave of coronavirus cases that continues to stretch hospitals thin. The directive will enter force on Monday and last for at least a month, according to the governor’s office, and impact all public indoor spaces that lack the proof-of-jab measures. The mandate arrives in the face of a pre-Christmas surge in cases, and after the arrival of the fast-spreading omicron strain that has ripp…

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