A New York appellate judge ruled that the state can continue enforcing its mask mandate while it appeals a ruling Monday that struck down the rule.

The statement comes after State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled Monday that the state Department of Health did not have the legal authority to enforce Gov. Kathy Hochul’s updated mandate, which required masking in all indoor spaces unless a business opted to have a vaccine requirement in place.

Hochul announced the new mandate in December after overreacting to the Omicron surge that hit NY State, despite several warnings from South Africa, where the variant originated from, that Omicron was the least threatening of all Covid variants, and that fatalities were close to non-existent.

Rademaker said that “enacting any laws to this end is entrusted solely to the State Legislature,” making the mandate “void and unenforceable.”

Hochul immediately vowed to fight the ruling, resulting in the stay of the illegal mandate as the appeal process plays out.