Getting on the blue-states-loosening-mask-rules bandwagon, Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday announced that she’s letting the state’s indoor face-covering mandate lapse. With COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization rates way down across New York — and 82% of adults fully vaccinated, a bulwark that is likely what kept omicron from killing in far larger numbers here — the moment is right.
Meanwhile, Hochul says she’ll decide in early March whether schoolkids might get to go mask-free again. While pointing out that kids have lower vaccination rates than adults, the governor says she wants to see more data after students return from vacation. But kids are least vulnerable to COVID-19 and their learning and emotional health are most affected by having their faces covered all day. From a public health perspective, lifting the indoor business mandate makes the school rule an easier call.
What’s likely the real reason for the governor’s hesitance is that she’s trying to manage the fears of parents and teachers, some of whom are afraid of sending kids to school naked-faced. If that’s her concern, she should say so openly.
