Toddlers finally freed from city's mask mandate

 

NY Post 

 Mask-wearing will finally be optional for toddlers in city schools soon, Mayor Adams announced Thursday — about two weeks before the end of classes.

The controversial face-covering mandate for youngsters ages 2 to 4 in public schools, daycare centers and other city-run settings will be lifted beginning Monday, according to a press release. The last day of class is set for June 27.

“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,” Adams said in a prepared statement.

The mayor had initially announced the impending end to the policy two months ago, before reneging amid increased spread of the virus.

In the announcement Thursday, Adams said City Hall continues to “strongly” recommend that “New Yorkers of all ages continue to wear masks indoors.”  The city will keep providing masks at DOE schools for those who want to wear them, according to the press release.

Daniela Jampel, an outspoken advocate for lifting the toddler mask mandate, told The Post she was “overjoyed” that little ones would get the same “freedom of choice” as other New Yorkers to not wear masks.

“Toddlers were masked for far too long in this city, and today’s announcement is a step in the direction of restoring normalcy to our youngest residents,” said Jampel, a mother of a 4-year-old and former former city Law Department staffer who in April crashed an Adams press conference in City Hall to demand he lift the rule. 

Asked why Adams had opted to lift the mandate now as the school year comes to a close, a mayoral rep referred The Post to a series of tweets in which the city’s top doctor declared that the Big Apple is “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,” wrote Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.

  They wait til the end of the school year to do this. That's the real safety metric they are basing this on. Vaccine extortion worker mandates remain intact.

 

Meet the new public health boss, same as the old public health boss

The city's new smug asshole doctor

 

 NY Daily News

Mayor Adams’ newly minted health commissioner recommended Friday that the city should indefinitely maintain its mask mandate for kids younger than 5, striking a more cautious tone than his boss, who would prefer to scrap the restriction sooner rather than later.

Dr. Ashwin Vasan laid out the case for continued pandemic caution during a COVID-19 briefing in Queens, his first since taking over as the city’s health commissioner earlier this week.

The two primary coronavirus restrictions that remain in effect are the school mask mandate for kids younger than 5 and the vaccine mandate for the city’s private workforce — and Vasan said he believes neither of those requirements should be lifted anytime soon.

“I think it’s indefinite at this point,” Vasan said of the workforce mandate, which requires all private employees in the Big Apple to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “People who have tried to predict what’s going to happen in the future in this pandemic have repeatedly found egg on their face, as they say, and I’m not going to do that here today.”

In terms of the mask mandate for kids younger than 5, Vasan offered a personal plea for why it shouldn’t be rescinded for the time being.

“I would love nothing more than to send my son to daycare without a mask,” said Vasan, whose kid is 4. “But as a scientist ... I want to keep him safe because he’s not eligible for a vaccine.”

 

Throw away your keys to New York City

 

 NY Daily News 

Starting Monday, New Yorkers will no longer need to show proof of vaccination for indoor activities like dining and kids won’t have to wear face masks in school, Mayor Adams announced Friday as coronavirus infections continue to drop statewide.

The rollback of pandemic precautions was expected, as Adams said earlier this week that the indoor Key2NYC vaccine mandate and school masking requirement would go away this Monday barring an “unforeseen spike” in COVID-19 cases.

Still, the mayor’s official announcement at a Friday morning press conference marked a major reversal in the city’s approach to fighting the virus, which continues to kill dozens of New Yorkers every day.

“This is about giving people the flexibility that is needed to continue allow not only safety, but we have to get our economy back on track,” Adams said in Times Square. “It’s time to open our city and get the economy back up and operating.”

The Key to NYC will die, the masks are coming off

 

NY Post

Vaccine passports will no longer be required in New York City starting March 7, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday — and he plans on lifting school mask mandates then, too, barring “unforeseen spikes” in COVID cases.

Adams said he plans on following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead in nixing masks in schools but would make the final determination this Friday.

“At the end of this week, we will evaluate the numbers and make a final announcement on Friday. If we see no unforeseen spikes and our numbers continue to show a low level of risk, New York City will remove the indoor mask mandate for public school children,” Hizzoner said in a statement.

But he said starting March 7, patrons at Big Apple restaurants, gyms and indoor venues will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination.

“Additionally, New York City’s numbers continue to go down day after day, so, as long as COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also lift Key2NYC requirements,” the mayor said, referring to rules imposed last year by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining, indoor fitness, indoor entertainment and certain meeting spaces.

NY Post

Mask mandates in public schools across New York will be lifted this Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday — and she feels “confident” Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams will follow suit but said it’s ultimately up to him.

Speaking from Albany, Hochul said local governments would now be empowered to set their own school mask requirements in accordance with new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday that reclassified much of the state as “low risk” for COVID infection.

“Given the decline in our rates, our hospitalizations, strong vaccination rates and the CDC guidance, we, friends, the day has come,” Hochul said. “Today we are going to be announcing that we’ll be lifting the statewide mask requirement in schools, and that’ll be effective this Wednesday, March 2.”

Hochul said she had spoken to Mayor Eric Adams and “feels confident” he will follow her lead and yank the city’s school mask requirement, but declined to speak on his behalf.

“My position is to empower the local governments to make the decisions for their entire county. But I’ve always said that if there are entities within and we’re going to whether it’s a city, a school district and school if they choose to be more restrictive. We will not prohibit that whatsoever,” she said.

Meet the new mandates, same as the old mandates

Chaos Erupts when Eric Adams comes out of his office. Protesters against mandates confront and yell at him because of the mandates #BreakingNews #NYC #MANDATE pic.twitter.com/46slZjie8y

— Leeroy Johnson (@LeeroyPress) November 3, 2021

 

 Eyewitness News

 Mayor-elect Eric Adams held COVID news conference unveiling his plans to combat COVID in New York City as he prepares to take office this weekend.

He was joined by current Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi and incoming Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan.

Adams said the plan is to, "Keep our city open. That's the goal. We can't shut down our city again."

As for existing mandates regarding vaccines and masks, they will stay in place with a few changes and adjustments.

The private-sector employee vaccine mandate will stay in place with a focus on compliance, not punishment. A dedicated unit will work with small businesses, stakeholders, and the mayor's corporate engagement committee to help implement the mandate, foregoing fines if employers engage with the city to help get their workers vaccinated.

The city will study the need for an "up to date" mandate program to require booster shots for all New Yorkers currently covered by the vaccine mandates and engage with unions, the business community, and other shareholders. The data shows that booster shots are extremely effective against Delta and earlier COVID strains, but the city says it does not yet have definitive data on omicron.

The city will set a deadline of this spring for a decision on whether or not there should be a vaccine mandate in schools for the fall of 2022. The decision will be based on expected COVID risk in city schools and vaccination rates among students.

All other current mandates stay in place, including for masks.

"We are going to get through this," Adams said. "New York will lead the way for this entire country to follow."

As for New York City Schools, they will fully reopen on January 3, and they will implement the Stay Safe, Stay Open plan.

It includes doubling surveillance testing and adjusting the Situation Room and quarantine protocols. Sending home millions of rapid at-home tests for students and educators.
They will also strengthen mitigation measures including higher quality masks and better ventilation.

 Incoming-Mayor Adams says they will surge resources to the Health + Hospitals system to ensure enough capacity to address new hospitalizations from omicron. Ambulatory care will be shifted to virtual when possible to shore up nurse staffing levels and other measures.

He also plans to improve safety in congregate settings like jails, shelters, and nursing homes at high risk by supporting rapid isolation and quarantine. They will also provide ready access to vaccination and testing.

As far as COVID testing efforts for the city, the Adams administration plans to increase testing with more sites and mass-access to rapid tests.

The city says it will provide clear testing protocols for specific settings, including in the private sector.

The city will also surge resources to the Health Department, including more than 250 staff, to keep the public health infrastructure strong and at adequate capacity.