Judge of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Thomas Rademaker, today overturned the decision to make masks mandatory and said the state's governor had exceeded his authority to impose rules to be passed by the legislature.

The Governor of New York Katie Hochul reacted to the court decision and said that he would use every option he has for the court decision to be revoked immediately, reports Reuters.

"We strongly oppose this ruling and will use every option to overturn it immediately," she said in a statement.

"My responsibility as governor is to protect New Yorkers during this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and save lives," Hochul added.

Radmeiker said his ruling was in no way intended to call into question the effectiveness and necessity of wearing a mask as a means of combating the coronavirus, but that "the adoption of any law for that purpose is entrusted solely to state law."

Governor Hochul declared a state of emergency shortly after the World Health Organization announced on November 26 that the omicron was a cause for concern.

At the time, the seven-day average of new daily cases in New York State was about 6.400, and that number was growing rapidly until it peaked at 73.815 coronavirus cases on January 10.