ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday announced that the mask mandates in public schools outside of the City of New York will be lifted on Wednesday, March 2.
Hochul’s change will allow county governments to determine their own mask policies for schools in their counties. Hochul’s announcement is based on Friday’s new guidelines from the CDC that determined much of the state to be at “low-risk” for infections.
“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,” Hochul said.
Dutchess has been among the counties pressed the governor to end use of emergency powers. “We welcome the end to mask requirements for our children later this week – and will take no action to require them locally,” said County Executive Marc Molinaro.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have prioritized the health and safety of our children. Thankfully, COVID-19 cases in Ulster County have declined 97 percent since the Omicron surge and the public health risk is significantly reduced,” County Executive Patrick Ryan said Sunday. “In line with New York State’s decision to lift the mask requirement for children two years and up, and based on the CDC placing Ulster County in the “Low” COVID-19 Community Level, children in Ulster County two years old and over will no longer be required to wear masks indoors in school or childcare settings effective March 2.”
