New York’s statewide COVID-19 mask-or-vaccine mandate for businesses and indoor venues will be extended several more weeks until Feb. 1, said Gov. Kathy Hochul on Dec. 31. Hochul, a Democrat, introduced the mandate, which requires businesses and venues to require people to wear masks or present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, in mid-December amid the spread of the Omicron CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variant. “I thank all the counties and also the businesses themselves who have been following this,” Hochul said Friday, adding that the mandate will be revisited on Feb. 1. “I have seen compliance. I have traveled from diners and traveled upstate and traveled around the city of New York. The compliance is very good for me visually.” The mandate has fines of up to $1,000 for each violation, according to the governor’s office. But, in an apparent reversal of the state policy, Hochul’s office said on Dec. 20 …