On Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the termination of a regulation that required children aged 2 to 4 to wear face masks in schools and daycares.
After this coming Monday, students in that age range will no longer be forced to wear masks, following Adams’ policy of making masking optional for older students when schools resume in fall 2020. “I have always said that the science will guide us out of the pandemic, and because we have followed the data, which shows that cases are steadily falling, we’ve beaten back the latest COVID-19 surge. “New Yorkers stepped up when we needed them most and have put us on the path to lower risk,” Adams said Thursday in a news release.
Prior to Adams’ statement, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the health commissioner, tweeted: “After a two-month sustained increase in #COVID19 transmission, we are finally past the peak of this wave. Cases have fallen since May 23, giving us confidence that we have passed the peak and we are heading into a safer environment.” The tweet said that the case rate has decreased by 26% between May 23 and June, but “COVID-19 is still with us.”
Earlier this week, Adams said, “I want to remove masks and see our babies’ faces as quickly as possible.” Despite the suspension of the regulation, Adams’ press statement advised people to continue wearing masks.
