New York Gov. Hochul says mask mandate for schools to end March 2 amid declining COVID cases
Fox News
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday a statewide masking requirement in schools will end March 2 amid a decline in COVID-19 cases and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
FILE: Teachers line up their students before entering PS 179 elementary school in the Kensington neighborhood, Sept. 29, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) FILE: Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File) New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
"Given the decline in our rates, our hospitalizations, strong vaccination rates and the CDC guidance, my friends, the day has come," Hochul said. "Today we are going to be announcing that we will be lifting the statewide mask requirement in schools."
The new rules effective Wednesday will apply to children 2 years and older in childcare facilities. New York State has 2.7 million schoolchildren, including about 1 million in New York City.
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