New York School Mask Mandate Will Be Lifted On Wednesday

This Wednesday will be the first day that students in schools across New York State will not have to wear masks while inside school buildings.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul lifted the indoor mask requirement for businesses in New York State on February 9th stated that the state will lift their mask mandate for schools as of this Wednesday, March 2nd.

New York City schools announced that they will lift their mask mandate starting tomorrow while the rest of the state will lift the mandate on Wednesday.

According to the New York Times, the decision for New York City schools to drop their mask mandate before an official ruling from the state had to do with a major decline in COVID-19 positive cases.

The decision comes as city Department of Education officials said that coronavirus cases among students and staff members had decreased by 99 percent since their early January peak, and that the in-school test positivity rate was under one percent

Governor Hochul met with school officials, parents, teachers, and other members of the public to review COVID-19 numbers at schools across the state.

While the mask mandate will be lifted for schools, the statewide mandate will remain in effect for other state-run businesses including healthcare facilities and prisons.