NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he is pulling the plug on masks in schools and the “Key to NYC” vaccination requirement for restaurants and other venues starting Monday, March 7.
Adams made the announcement in Times Square, saying “it’s time to open our city and get the economy back operating.”
The mayor is lifting the “Key to NYC” vaccination requirement, or "passport," for restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, and other cultural and entertainment venues.
“Beginning Monday, March 7, we will be suspending the requirements under Key to NYC,” Adams said. “So folks can come in and enjoy the restaurants, the business and be a part of this great city without having to show proof of vaccination.”
The mayor is also lifting the indoor mask requirements for K-12 public schools starting Monday.
He said caregivers can still have their kids wear masks, and masks will be available for students and staff who want to wear them.
“We want to see the faces of our children, we want to see their smiles,” Adams said.
United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew released the following statement from the union in response to the optional mask policy: “Our doctors agree with the city's medical experts that this is the right time to safely move from a mask mandate to an optional mask system. Both the take-home tests and the in-school random tests showed no post-holiday spike and put the infection rate at less than 1 percent. This is the responsible, thoughtful way to make our next transition. We will, however, keep our testing program in place—both in-school and the take-home tests—to make sure we remain on the right path.”
There will still be some rules: Masks will still be required on public transportation. Public and private employers in the city will still — for now — be required to bar unvaccinated people from the workplace.
Businesses will still be free to set their own rules for entry. Broadway theaters still plan to require patrons to show proof of vaccination to see shows through at least the end of April. Signs saying “masks required” still hang on some shop windows.
In a statement, the Broadway League said: “Our current guidance is through April 30 and we are scheduled to update that guidance on April 1. Discussions are held weekly on our protocols and at this point, there is no change to our guidance. We will, of course, let you know when it changes.”
Adams thanked the city’s health team, first responders, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio, saying “Bill had a tough time” having to navigate the deadly pandemic and the steps necessary to keep the public safe.
“Some of you are sitting here today because he was there to make those tough calls with his team,” Adams said.
The mayor said the city’s efforts had prevented 48,000 deaths, 303,000 hospitalizations and 1.9 million cases in the five boroughs.
He said the city fought back after enduring “two years of pain, of heartbreak, of uncertainty, of business loss, of schools closing.”
“It was a tough time,” the mayor said. “But we are beating it back…and New York is back.”
City health commissioner Dave Chokshi said the step to lift mandates was possible thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine and the efforts of healthcare workers. He acknowledged the “unspeakable trauma we’ve all experienced these past two years,” including deaths, illnesses and isolation.
Chokshi said the city was releasing a new COVID alert system “to give New Yorkers a road map for how to mitigate their own risk today and in the future in the event that we see another surge or an increase in transmission.”
There will be four color-coded levels -- low, medium, high and very high -- which will align with what’s being seen with community spread and the impact on the health system, as well as what actions can be expected from the city government.
“According to our data, we are currently at a low alert level,” Chokshi said.
It will come just over two years after the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in the city on March 1, 2020. Since then, the pandemic has killed thousands of people in the city and altered the normal way of life
The two-year pandemic has left an indelible mark on the city. Wearing masks indoors has become second nature, while vaccine requirements, social distancing and COVID-19 testing are part of everyday life.
In a little more than six weeks in the spring of 2020, 20,000 people died in the city. Another 20,000 have perished in the two years since then.
The city is easing its restrictions at a time when the omicron wave is fading, even if the virus continues to kill at elevated rates compared to a few months ago.
More than 200 people died of COVID-19 in New York City the week that ended Feb. 19, the last full week for which city health officials say reliable data is available. That’s way down from nearly 900 killed the week that ended Jan. 15. But it is still four times as many deaths as occurred the first week in November.
And while mandates are winding down across the country, the risk of another coronavirus variant remains.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related
Related
Related
