NYC mask mandate for school children 2-4 to end April 4

NEW YORK - Children age 2 to 4 years old in New York City schools and daycare settings will no longer be required to wear face masks beginning Monday, April 4, announced Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday.

As long as overall COVID numbers remain low, the mayor said it was time to lift the mandate. Parents and guardians have the option to send their children to school with masks.

"It’s now been two weeks since we removed the mask mandate for K-12 public school children, and our percent positivity in schools has, thankfully, remained low," said Adams. "Each day, we review the data, and if we continue to see low levels of risk, then, on Monday, April 4, we will make masks optional for 2- to 4-year-old children in schools and daycare settings.

The change comes as state health officials announced an uptick in COVID cases due to the new variant, BA.2.

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The omicron variant BA.2, commonly known as "stealth omicron," now represents 42% of all cases in New York, according to state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett.

Even with that shift, "we don't expect to see a steep surge in cases in New York state," Bassett said Monday at an Albany briefing with Gov. Kathy Hochul.

As for the private sector mask mandate in place throughout the city, the mayor said he was not yet ready to peel back that layer of protection from COVID spread.