After receiving vehement criticism from the city’s parents, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that the mask requirement for children under the age of five will be eliminated.
‘Schools have remained the safest venues for our children during the current wave, and effective Monday, June 13, we will make masks optional for 2-4 year old children in all early childhood settings,’ Adams said.
‘We continue to strongly advise New Yorkers of all ages to wear masks indoors, and we will continue to make masks available to any child or school staff member who desires to do so.’
Parents have been approaching the mayor at public events for months, pleading with him to remove the rule.
Masks are not suggested for children under the age of five, according to the World Health Organization.
Hundreds of parents gathered to demand that the toddler mask mandate be repealed. In March, a big demonstration outside City Hall appeared to put pressure on Adams to lift the ban, but Adams decided to keep it in place due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Hundreds of parents gathered to demand that the toddler mask mandate be repealed. In March, a big demonstration outside City Hall appeared to put pressure on Adams to lift the ban, but Adams decided to keep it in place due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
On Thursday, Adams said, “I’m with New York City parents, and New Yorkers can trust this administration to continue to make the necessary public health decisions to keep our kids safe.”
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health, claimed that between May 23 and June 5, the number of cases had dropped by 26%.
In a tweet, Vasan stated, “Cases have declined since May 23, giving us the confidence that we have passed the peak and are headed towards a safer environment.”
In the recent week, both hospitalizations and deaths have decreased.
After the current variant of the virus revealed it was spreading swiftly across the state, New York raised its Covid-19 alert level in mid-May.
The most recent wave of infections had crested, according to Vasan’s tweets on Thursday.
On April 4, the mayor promised to remove the mask requirement for children, but as cases piled up, he reversed himself.
The indefinite mask rule was immediately overturned by a state judge, who declared it ‘arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable,’ and thus ‘void and unenforceable.’
Adams, on the other hand, was successful in his request for a stay of the mandate so that he may appeal the judge’s decision.
The mayor of New York City promised on Thursday that he will lift the mandate for real this time.
‘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.
Parents were furious, so Adams avoided meeting with them while attending a slew of social events, including a party with Cara Delevingne at the new One Vanderbilt skyscraper and a trip to see Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick perform in the Broadway play Plaza Suite.
Adams has also been spotted at the exclusive Zero Bond club, where he was spotted on April 28 with supermodel Naomi Campbell and Grammy Award-winning singer Jon Batiste.
The mayor’s most recent appearance was at the Met Gala last week, where he once again mingled with the elite.
While Adams’ partying has enraged parents, City Health Commissioner Vasan has faced criticism for supporting the mayor’s restrictions and claiming that the toddler mask mandate will remain in place ‘indefinitely.’
Last month, more than 100 parents demonstrated outside City Hall in response to Vasan’s remark, while dozens more demonstrated outside Vasan’s home, allegedly hurling death threats at the health commissioner.
The parents who signed a letter last month condemned Vasan’s personal attacks and hoped that officials would be willing to meet with them after he stated that he would be happy to speak with parents in a non-hostile setting.