After nearly two years of wearing face coverings everywhere in our daily life, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are loosening the last mandated rules around masks. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday that a dramatic drop in coronavirus infections could lead to the lifting of vaccine mandates on restaurants, bars and theaters as soon as March 7.
Statewide indoor school mask mandates have dropped in Connecticut and are poised to drop in New York and New Jersey on Wednesday and Monday, respectively, as officials remove the last longstanding emblem of the pandemic.
New York City has said it plans to lift the mask mandate for the nation’s largest public school system come Monday, March 7, as well as the Key2NYC vaccine mandate that requires customers to show proof of vaccination to enter indoor spaces. The mandate requiring vaccination for employees will stay for now.
The developments follow recently updated CDC guidance essentially saying most people don’t need to wear face masks in indoor public settings unless there’s a high level of severe disease. The health agency’s new benchmarks for assessing that threat level currently mean more than 70% of the U.S. population can go maskless.
Here are a list of places you will still be required to wear a mask:
Mass transit: The feds require masks on planes and trains (as well as in airports and transit stations), while NYC and NJ transit operators mandate masks on trains, buses and taxes/rideshare services
Broadway theaters: Masks are required through April 30, at least
Healthcare facilities like hospitals and nursing homes as well as adult care centers
Correctional facilities
Homeless shelters
Individual businesses that choose to mandate masks. State law allows local municipalities to opt for stricter standards around COVID if they so choose.
Will you be sending your child to school without a mask?
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