New York City indoor vaccine mandate and mask mandate in schools set to be lifted Monday
NEW YORK -- Starting Monday, the indoor vaccine mandate in the city will officially be lifted and kids won't be required to wear a mask at school.
New Yorkers have navigated through a number of COVID-19 restrictions over the last two years, but a big shift is coming.
The crowds were back at Nina's Great Burrito Bar on the Upper West Side on Sunday night.
"We're seeing it. We're seeing an infusion of people already. It's not like boom, but it's gradually over the last month people are starting to believe it's safer and they are coming out more often," said owner Jeremy Wladis.
Wladis said there were times during the pandemic he wasn't sure he'd ever get to this point.
He's also the owner of Good Enough to Eat, next door. The cooks there have stayed busy filling orders for customers both inside and out.
Up until now, to try and get a seat inside you've needed to show your vaccination card, which, depending on where you are, had been easier said than done.
"I have friends who own restaurants in other places like Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Harlem. They've had a difficult time with these vaccination cards. On the Upper West Side, people are like, 'I don't want to sit where somebody isn't vaccinated,'" Wladis said.
On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams announced the vaccine mandate for indoor bars and restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues would be lifted starting Monday.
"We've been waiting for this day for so long. We have to get our economy back on track. It's time to open our city," Adams said.
Relaxing COVID rules is for some a sign of progress.
"I think it's really great that we don't really have to show proof of vaccination because the cases have dropped, so that's really a good sign that everything is clearing up and we can live normally," Hell's Kitchen resident Niya McKellar told CBS2's Kevin Rincon.
Another major change is masks will no longer be required at all public schools. Not just in the city, but also on the other side of the Hudson River in New Jersey.
Nearly two weeks ago, Gov. Phil Murphy said the mask mandate would be lifted as of this Monday, citing vaccination rates, and low case numbers.
"We do recommend a return to universal school-wide masking when conditions call for it," Murphy said.
Back in the city, the mask mandate will also be lifted at public schools for K-12 students starting Monday, but the mandate will remain optional.
"If you choose to have the mask, it's on you, because anything that protects yourself is better than nothing," the resident said.
"As you see. I'm still going to wear mine because it hasn't quite been lifted as yet, and I'm just not as ready for that," resident Ayesha Fisher said.
There are some places where the rules won't be changing just yet, including Broadway theaters, which were among the hardest hit during the pandemic.