Mask requirements lifted at New York State schools, U.S. House

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Mask mandate is being dropped this week at the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. and the public schools in New York State, while individual counties and cities with higher transmission rates may still require masks in schools.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance, more than 70 percent of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 levels, where masking is not necessary unless an individual is at "increased risk" for COVID-19.

A growing number of states -- the majority with Democratic governors -- have announced in recent weeks that they would lift their indoor or school mask mandates, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island.

STATEWIDE DROP

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Sunday that the statewide mask mandate for schools would be lifted, empowering local officials to assess the need for additional restrictions in their schools.

The decision, which is set to take effect on Wednesday, came in consultation with public health and education officials. The mask mandate had been a vital aid in battling the Omicron surge, said the governor.

The rollbacks came a day after New York announced a statewide seven-day average positivity rate below 2 percent and hospitalizations under 2,000 for the first time since before the Omicron surge. The drop is part of a national decrease in coronavirus cases.

NYC MOVE

New York City was poised to eliminate school mask mandates and vaccine requirements for restaurants, gyms and movie theaters, by March 7, if case numbers remain low, Mayor Eric Adams announced hours after the state made its decision.

"The rollback of pandemic restrictions, which had served as a crucial weapon in the city's battle against the coronavirus, is a milestone that many hope will help to restore a sense of normalcy in the city and boost its economic recovery," reported The New York Times (NYT).

Promising a final decision by Friday, the mayor said that he wanted to give business owners time to adapt -- a nod to the toll that the virus and related restrictions have taken on small businesses, according to the report.

HOUSE POLICY

The U.S. House of Representatives is lifting the House floor mask mandate in time for U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday, "ending a requirement that had allowed some Republicans to express their defiance, but at a personal cost," said NYT.

Congress's attending physician, Brian Monahan, delivered the news on Sunday, saying coronavirus cases had dropped so much in Washington that mask wearing should become optional, not mandatory.

For months now, compliance with the mandate in the Capitol complex has been spotty and partisan. But on the House floor, the House sergeant-at-arms has diligently enforced the mask mandate and reported scofflaws to the House Ethics Committee, according to the report.