New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that statewide mask requirements in schools will end effective Wednesday.
“My friends, the day has come,” Hochul said.
Hochul said that falling rates of Covid-19 infections among both children and the general population, as well as recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, led to the change.
“We stood together as a state. This was a difficult time,” Hochul said. “There were a lot of people questioning what we were doing but I always had that sense that if we stick with the experts and the data and let that be our guide and not let criticism and politics intervene in the decision-making, we’d end up in the right place.”
The change also applies to children ages 2 years and older in child-care facilities.
Hochul said that while the state mandate is being lifted, counties in areas of higher transmission could still opt to require masks in schools.
“There are some counties that have a higher rate of transmission. We will allow them the flexibility to determine what’s best for their county,” Hochul said.
She also said that parents would have the freedom to have their children wear masks.
“I want to send a loud message that we will have no tolerance in our school system or anywhere for any harassment of bully of any child or their parents,” Hochul said.
“If people want to continue wearing masks, they are are allowed to continue wearing masks.”
Hochul pointed to the rapid decline in cases since the peak of the omicron surge. On Jan. 7, there were over 90,000 positive cases in New York state. On Feb. 26, that number has fallen to just 1,671. Hochul noted the drop in seven-day average in cases among children ages 5 to 18; on Jan. 10, that number was 14,167. As of Feb. 26, that had fallen to 229, she said.
“When I look at what was going on just a short time ago, I am so happy that we did have a mask requirement in place for schools,” Hochul said.
New York state’s mask mandate for businesses ended earlier this month.