(Reuters) – New York state will end its mask mandate for schools and childcare facilities on Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul said, citing a steep drop in COVID-19 cases.
“It wasn’t always easy, but students, educators and parents stepped up to fight this pandemic,” Hochul tweeted on Sunday. “We’ve reached this exciting milestone because of your hard work.”
The new rules come after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday eased guidelines for indoor masking across most of the country.
The CDC updated its school guidance to recommend masking only in areas of high COVID-19 transmission, instead of universal masking.
New York’s positive test rate on a seven-day rolling average was 1.9% on Friday, according to the state health department website, down from over 20% in early January.
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Editing by Richard Chang)
