The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, announced Wednesday that starting Thursday, February 10, the mandate of the use of masks or vaccination tests for closed public places, such as restaurants, will be lifted. However, counties, cities and businesses themselves can maintain their own mandates to require the use of masks if they wish, the Democrat added.
However, New Yorkers should continue to wear masks in certain places such as in state health care settings, nursing homes, prisons, homeless centers, centers for victims of domestic violence, and on public transportation.
Masks have been a successful part of our toolkit to fight COVID, and New Yorkers must keep wearing them in certain places throughout the State. pic.twitter.com/XLuqbnVZZ9
— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 9, 2022
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On the other hand, the governor clarified that the mandate of the use of masks will continue for schools and that the State will reevaluate the conditions in the first week of March. He later added that there was a “big chance” that he could lift the mask mandate in schools from March 7 if the data looked good on March 4.
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Hochul had already hinted that school mandates will last longer than others, mainly because vaccination rates for children remain low.
Only about 30% of children ages 5 to 11 throughout New York State are fully vaccinated, and there are parts of the state where that number is still below 20 %.
The governor met with school leaders and teacher unions on Tuesday, and although the outcome of that meeting was unclear, the general sentiment was that the school mask is likely to extend beyond the February 21 deadline.
Timeline of New York’s indoor mask mandate
Connecticut has already said that its school mask mandate will end on February 28 and New Jersey will lift its school mask mandate from March 7. New York will continue with this until a new review after students return to class.
Hochul, like other governors in the region, is free to act given the way COVID infections have plummeted.
Fewer than 4,300 people in New York tested positive on Monday, a third of the number two weeks earlier and a tenth of the number of cases a month ago.
New York City mask Mandate
However, even as the state makes changes to its rules on the use of masks, New York City continues to encourage people to wear masks, even if it is not mandatory.
“We continue to follow the science and guidance of public health professionals to keep New Yorkers safe. We encourage all New Yorkers to continue wearing high-quality masks when indoors or in crowded spaces and to get vaccinated and receive the booster dose to stop the spread, ” the mayor’s press secretary Fabien Levy said in a statement.
The city’s school system still has a mask mandate as well.
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