New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order on Thursday authorizing businesses to block anyone who does not wear a mask or face covering, stressing the importance of wearing masks and social distancing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"I've been working to communicate this message about masks and how effective they are," said the Governor in a daily briefing, iterating masks are "deceptively" and "amazingly" effective.

"We're giving the store owners the right to say if you're not wearing a mask, you can't come in. That store owner has a right to protect themselves, that store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store," Cuomo told the press.

Cuomo announced 1,768 new cases were confirmed in New York State on Thursday, bringing the statewide total to 366,733.

(Graphic by CGTN's Chen Yuyang)