Masks Mandates are coming to an end in school in New York City schools on Wednesday. New York Governor Kathy Hochul believes it is time for masks in schools to go. On February 27th, 2020, Hochul announced that the statewide order requiring indoor mask use in schools would be lifted on Wednesday, March 2nd. A drop of COVID-19 cases by 98 percent since Omicron’s peak and a drop in hospitalizations as well as strong vaccination rates caused the Governor to make this decision. Students and teachers returning from mid-winter break on Monday are guaranteed to have at least two more days of face coverings in the classroom until the statewide order lifts.

   Just days after the city dropped mask requirements for students and staff while outdoors, Governor’s Mayor Eric Adams announced his intention to end the city’s indoor mask and vaccine mandate on Monday, March 7, as long as COVID cases continue to decline. Education leaders in the city announced the change in masking on Friday, the same day the CDC eased federal mask guidance. This new guidance says that most Americans do not need to  wear masks in indoor public settings unless there is a heightened risk of severe disease or health system strain. A large number of states have already eased or removed mask guidance since the decline of Omicron variant and slowing of hospitalization and death rates connected to COVID. The new recommendations are part of an overall shift in focus for the Biden administration, which is moving from an infection containment approach to mitigating severe illness and death linked to COVID-19.