Reuters file photo
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the city will remove the mask mandate for kids under 5 years old if Covid cases in schools remain low.
"If we don’t have a spike, we’re going to lift for your babies as well,” Adams said during a press briefing held on Friday to announce an expanded summer learning program. "I want them taking their masks off.”
New York state dropped its school mask requirements on March 2. The city followed suit and on Monday made masks optional for schoolchildren ages 5 and over. The city retained the requirement for kids under 5, who are not eligible to be vaccinated.
"It would be irresponsible of me to do all at once,” Adams said, noting that his health team first wanted to see whether Covid cases spike after the mask mandate is dropped among older children.
City schools reported 88 student cases and 50 staff cases on March 10, a precipitous drop from January, when schools were reporting thousands of daily cases, according to city data.
