New Yorkers Curious if Governor Will Announce End to School Mask Mandate Today

As cases of people with COVID continue to drop each day, more people are questioning whether or not New York state might be in line to not only drop its general mask mandate, but also its mask mandate in schools.

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There are some indicators that changes might be in store for New York as early as this week. The current mask guidance set in place by Governor Kathy Hochul which requires masks to be worn inside indoor spaces ends this Thursday, February 10 while the state mandate for mask-wearing in New York schools expires on Monday, February 21.

In a press briefing on Monday, February 7, Governor Hochul said that the COVID surge seems to be winding down some and that she is reviewing data and meeting with health experts regarding the current guidelines and plans to make an announcement on Wednesday, February 9 regarding the future of her mask mandate.

Regarding the current mandate that masks must be worn inside schools, Governor Hochul said that she would be speaking with school superintendents from around the state on Tuesday, so an announcement regarding mask-wearing inside New York schools could come as soon as today.

With that in mind, Governor Kathy Hochul has said in the past that the key to dropping the mask mandate inside New York State schools might be that more children need to be vaccinated so it will be interesting to see if the governor makes that a requirement for the mandate to be dropped.

States around the country have begun to lift their mask mandates. Deleware will drop its mask mandate on Friday, February 11 while the requirement for masking in schools will end on March 31. Oregon is also dropping its mandates for schools and indoor spaces on March 31.

California is stopping its mandate next week, New Jersey will pull its student mask mandate on March 7, and Connecticut will end its mandate on February 28.