Albany, N.Y. — Effective today, masks are now required at child care and day care centers in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said this morning.
The rule applies to all kids ages 2 and up and all staff and visitors. It also covers home-based group family and family child care programs and after-school child care programs.
Masks are also now required at state regulated residential and congregate day programs such as inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities and substance abuse sites. The rule also applies to juvenile detention programs, juvenile residential facilities, congregate foster care programs, runaway and homeless youth programs, domestic violence programs and other shelter programs.
The new requirements apply to anyone medically able to tolerate wearing a mask. They apply to both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
The new mandates come as cases of Covid-19 have been rising across New York and the rest of the nation for months. Infections in kids are spiking in some areas.
That’s one reason for the new rules at day care, Hochul said.
“The scariest announcements coming out every single morning are the number of children now contracting Covid,” she said. “We don’t have a vaccine available for 5- to 11-year-olds.”
Masks were already required in other settings in New York, including schools, health care facilities, public transportation and others.
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