Hochul to lift school mask mandate Wednesday

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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.  

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. 

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 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.”

Glen Cove School District announced on Monday that masks would be optional to students and faculty in school and on school buses, in accordance with the mandate lift starting Wednesday. 

The district is awaiting an update from the Department of Health and the State Education Department for further guidance regarding other Covid-19 protocols such as social distancing, quarantining, and isolation. Superintendent Dr. Maria Rianna said that the district is expecting the updated guidance in the following week. 

“We are hopeful that there is not another surge in the future and that we can safely move forward and out of this pandemic era,” Rianna said. 

Norma Iona, Deasy Elementary School PTA vice president, said she and her son were happy that the mandate was lifted, since this year her son began to complain about having to wear the mask.

“They continue to say kids are resilient and are just fine with sitting with a mask but I think it started to become challenging to sit through a full day of school masked and shielded,” Iona said. 

She added that she was relieved that the children no longer have to sit behind a shield while at their desks. 

“My son was in pre-K when this started; he is now in first grade,” Iona said. “His primary experiences in a learning environment have been majorly altered socially and educationally. I am hoping this is the beginning of the rainbow.” 

Lia Di Angelo, a parent of a Robert M. Finley Middle School and Landing Elementary School students, said in school it is still a good idea to have masks on. “For kids, having a rule to just keep the mask on at least while they are indoor in small spaces … especially through the wintertime when everybody is sneezing and coughing, I think it’s useful,” Di Angelo said. 

She added that the masks help lower her family’s exposure to possible viruses and germs and her children are used to wearing the masks and that it does not bother them. 

Rianna said there are no new Covid cases since children have returned after spring break.