Mayor Drops Mask Mandates for Schools and Requirement for Businesses for Check for Proof of Customers’ Vaccination

By Yehudit Garmaise

NYC public school students, teachers, and staff can come to school on Monday without wearing masks indoors, Mayor Eric Adams said Friday. In addition, businesses no longer have to check vaccine cards at the door.

 “We are open for business, and New York City has its groove back,” Mayor Adams said Friday morning.

“Two years ago, we were the epicenter of the pandemic, but thanks to New Yorkers getting vaccinated and getting boosted, we have made tremendous progress,” the mayor said. “New York City is back, and vaccinations are why we’re back. 

“Covid cases are down 99%, and we did not have to close a single school since January,” said David C. Banks, New York City’s chancellor of the Department of Education. “Making masks optional gives families and educators a choice, while remaining vigilant through high levels of testing and following the advice of our public health experts and the CDC.”

“New Yorkers should be getting out and enjoying our amazing city. The fight may not be over, but we’re clearly winning the war,” said the mayor, who added that New York City businesses are still mandated to ensure their employees are vaccinated, unless they receive reasonable accommodations from their employers.

In addition, Mayor Adams released a new color-coded alert system to communicate current COVID risks to New Yorkers. 

The system consists of four alert levels: low, medium, high, and very high, which provide precautions and recommended actions that are based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Community Burden Indicator, which says New York City at now at a low level of risk.

“We are now safely entering a new phase of the pandemic,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who noted, “the steady decline in cases and hospitalizations from the Omicron peak.”

“Today, we turn the page on this chapter in our fight against COVID-19,” said New York Lieutenant Gov. Brian Benjamin.  “New York will have the best comeback story the world has ever seen.”