NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- New York City public schools will drop their outdoor mask mandate next week, officials said Friday.
Masks and face coverings will no longer be required outdoors on school grounds, but they still must be worn indoors by students, staff and visitors, according to an announcement from the Department of Education.
The change means students can remove masks in the schoolyard, during recess and while playing sports outdoors.
“We’re going to pull back on children wearing masks outdoors,” Mayor Eric Adams told WCBS 880 shortly after the announcement was made by schools Chancellor David Banks. “So when they return from [the midwinter break], when they are outdoors, they are not going to have to wear masks. And then we’re going to look later about how do we continue to pull back some of the mandates.”
Earlier Friday, Banks released a statement, saying, “Throughout the pandemic, our schools have remained some of the safest spaces for our students and staff, thanks to our gold standard health and safety protocol.”
“I am so pleased that we are able to make this exciting announcement and safely allow students and staff to remove their masks when outdoors at NYC public schools,” Banks said.
New York state still requires students to wear masks indoors at schools. Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she revisit the requirement after the midwinter break.
Also on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to significantly loosen federal mask-wearing guidelines.
Adams said he’s continuing to look at the city's COVID-19 numbers as he considers lifting the vaccine mandate for places like restaurants and gyms.
“I’ve said I want to pull back on all of these mandates, but we want to do it in a very smart way, so as the days continue to move forward, I’m looking at the numbers daily with my team each morning and when my doctors give me the thumbs up, I’m going to make those announcements,” Adams said. “But first we’re going to follow the science, because we don’t want to shut down our city again.”
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