New York City to lift school mask mandate for 2-to-4-year-olds starting Monday
NEW YORK -- The health commissioner says he is confident the city is past the peak of this latest COVID-19 wave.
It comes as case numbers have fallen by 26 percent over the past two weeks.
As a result, Mayor Eric Adams is lifting the mask mandate for toddlers in schools and day care centers, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported Thursday.
The mayor's decision to make it mask optional for young children comes just over three months after he lifted the mask mandate for kids in grades K-12. For some, it was a long time coming, but there are still many parents worried about their kids catching COVID.
"I mean, I cried because I know how much damage we've done to these toddlers, and I see these little babies who really need to learn how to speak and how to smile and how to be smiled at," said Natalya Murakhver of the group Restore Childhood.
The parent activist said she was thrilled the mayor finally lifted the mask mandate for toddlers, effective Monday, because she says forcing the youngsters to wear masks has stunted their development and caused lot of unforeseen problems.
Murakhver said her group got a call a month ago from a parent who told her the child, "had a food allergy. The school had given the child peanut candy and didn't wait to see if there was a reaction, and put a mask on the child's face. The child is 3 years old, The child ended up having hives on their face. The school never saw it, sent him home. The next time they gave him the candy, he had full blow anaphylaxis and had to be rush to the hospital and almost died."
And while that may be an extreme case, the mayor said in a statement that he had waited until now and the latest Omicron surge "steadily falling," because he was following the data.
"I'm with New York City parents and New Yorkers can trust this administration to continue to make the proper public health decisions to keep our kids safe," Adams said.
Some teachers agree that unmasking toddlers, even though they cannot yet be vaccinated, is a good idea.
"Definitely a good idea," Jackie Tojdowski said. "I'm a teacher and it's hard to hear kids speaking, and it's hard for them to learn when they are learning letters and sounds, learning how to read."
But there are still parents who are hesitant to unmask their kids in school or day care because they worry that there is still the threat of catching COVID.
"I don't like that, because there's a rise in COVID," one said.
"That can be a little dangerous, especially because they are kids and they are the ones we are supposed to protect the most, so I don't think that's a really good idea," Valentina Rivera said.
"I think it's a bad idea because all the kids are in the same room. I'm worried that the virus will spread. If one gets it, everyone gets it," Tashi Dolma added.
And while he's lifting the mask mandate, the mayor said he strongly recommends that New Yorkers of all ages continue to wear masks indoors.