NYC lifts COVID mandates but orders toddlers to remain masked

New York City’s vaccine passport system and mask mandate were nearly fully lifted today, with children in grades K-12 now allowed to come to school without a mask. 

Pre-K children, however, must remain masked until such time as determined by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 

“We want to see the faces of our children,” Adams said during his announcement in Times Square. 

Not all children, though. 

According to the new regulations, even adults who are over 80 years old or immunocompromised or adults with severe comorbidities such as obesity, are among those who are not required to wear masks. Children under five years old, however, who are among the lowest risk for COVID-19, must continue to wear masks in school. 

The mayor’s reason, according to Politico, is that children up to age five are not eligible to be vaccinated. 

Many blue states around the country, including New York, California and Washington, D.C. have already lifted mask mandates but continue to impose them on children in schools. 

But other states, such as Florida and Virginia, have been vehemently opposed to masking children in school. 

This weekend, Frontline News reported that Florida Attorney General Joseph Ladapo urged people to abandon mask-wearing, which he said is not based on quality science. 

“To the doctors who tell you that these [masks] save lives, ask them what did the two randomized clinical trials that we’ve done during the pandemic, what did they show?” Ladapo challenged. “Ask them that when they tell you that these things save lives. One found nothing. Zero benefit. The other found a small benefit, like a tiny benefit that’s a little bit methodologically shaky.”  

Ladapo went on to say that science is conclusive about masks being completely useless for young people.  

“And by the way, none of them found a benefit in young people. Not a single one found a benefit in young people. That’s the highest-quality evidence. That’s what it showed,” said Ladapo.