Hochul to lift school mask mandate Wednesday

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Sunday that the state requirement for children in school and child care to wear masks indoors would end on March 2. 

Hochul likened the Covid-19 pandemic to a “war that has been unfolding for the last two years, where our country has been under siege by this unseen assailant – one that has taken thousands of lives of Americans and New Yorkers.” 

In defense of the mask requirement so far, Hochul said that when she was sworn into office six months ago, her priority was to get children back to school, but that wearing masks was the best guarantee for children’s safety, especially since no pediatric vaccine was available until November. 

“We’re going to talk about where we came from in these last six months,” Hochul said, “and you see the spikes and the infection rates that really validated the rationale and the logic behind ensuring that we had those masks in place through those spikes, especially the Omicron variant.”

Using a series of large diagrams, Hochul demonstrated her use of positivity rates, hospitalizations, CDC guidance, and consultations with “the educational community, whose voices needed to be heard – our commissioner of education, our parents, our PTAs, our school superintendents, our school administrators, and our school unions,” in the process of deciding whether or not to require masks. 

From a high of a seven-day average of 14,167 positive pediatric Covid cases as of Jan. 10, with 38 children hospitalized, the numbers have dropped steadily for 48 days. Now, across the state, the seven-day average of pediatric cases is 226, and only 7 children are hospitalized with Covid. 

Hochul said the current numbers represent “our lowest point in pediatric cases since July of 2021, and that was before the school year started. … We are in a much, much better place.”

The improved statistics were confirmed late Friday by a CDC report that broke down the number of Covid cases in New York by county. 

“They've come up with a calculation on what constitutes a low, medium, or high community risk level,” Hochul said, “and 70% of our population now lives in an area considered low to medium risk.” The CDC recommendation is that, for communities with low to medium risk, masks for children need no longer be required indoors, including for children in day care. 

“So given the decline in our infection rates, our hospitalizations, our strong vaccination rates, and the CDC guidance,” said Hochul, “my friends, the day has come.”

Hochul said that communities designated higher risk had the option to enact more restrictive measures, but the state would not enforce a mask requirement in those areas.

In response to Hochul’s announcement, County Executive Bruce Blakeman said, “While I believe the governor’s decision to end her unconstitutional mandate is too little too late, I am happy that parents will soon have the power to decide what is best for their kids, and our students will finally be able to return to normal and see the smiling faces of their friends again.”

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta issued a statement saying, "We welcome this step toward normalcy. The governor is striking the right balance by empowering local officials to use data to determine if and when the mitigation strategies need to change in their areas. As the guidance changes, one thing must remain constant: It's essential that districts work closely with educators to ensure there is confidence in their health and safety plans."