that was once the national epicenter of the virus. joining me now is nbc news correspondent, emilie ikeda, live from new york city. also with us is dr. vin gupta, pulmonologist and an affiliate assistant professor at the institute for health metrics and evaluation at the university of washington. also an msnbc medical contributor. emilie, what can you tell us about what we'll be hearing from the governor? >> reporter: hey, there, jose. so many eyes on the empire state today. governor hochul is expected to weigh in on really two big things here. first, mask mandates within businesses, second, mask mandates within schools. and she could come down on those items differently. as you mentioned, reports suggest that she may possibly let the mask mandates within businesses expire tomorrow, but when it comes to schools, she appears likely to extend the requirement for face coverings in the classroom at least through the end of the month. of course, we will get a more definitive answer in just an hour or so. one thing that governor hochul has continued to express concern