Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman six county executives, including Pat Ryan of Ulster and Marc Molinaro of Dutchess, called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo May 16, to lift the state's mask requirement for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In a joint statement, the bipartisan group of county leaders urged Cuomo to follow the "common sense guidance" of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "New York needs to follow the science-backed guidance of the CDC," the statement read. "As we continue to see active cases [of COVID], hospitalizations and deaths steadily dropping day by day and more people receiving vaccinations, the governor should implement the CDC’s common sense guidance." The CDC last week announced that with a few exceptions, fully vaccinated individuals can resume all indoor and outdoor activities without the need to wear a mask or socially distance, if permitted by state or local law. Ryan, a Democrat, Molinaro, a Republican, and the executives of Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Suffolk counties also said in their statement that unvaccinated people should make getting their shots "a priority so efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 can be successful.” Read more in the Daily Freeman.