New York to keep mask mandate for young children
New York City toddlers must keep masks on as after appellate judge stays court ruling that threw out the mandate.
New York City’s requirement that young children wear masks in daycare and prekindergarten settings will continue after an appellate judge stayed a lower-court ruling that threw out the so-called toddler mask mandate.
Judge Paul Wooten granted the stay after a Friday evening hearing. New York Mayor Eric Adams and city health officials said earlier Friday that they hoped to keep the requirement as the daily number of coronavirus infections in the city increased.
“We’re telling people to take extra precautions,” Mr. Adams said. Earlier Friday, State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio had ruled the city’s requirement was “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” and granted a permanent injunction against its enforcement. Michael Chessa, a Brooklyn lawyer who brought the lawsuit challenging the mandate, said he was disappointed and frustrated with Mr. Adams’s decision to appeal the decision.
Mr. Adams said last month that young children wouldn’t have to wear masks starting April 4 “if we continue to see low levels of risk.” On Friday, Ashwin Vasan, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, asked people for “more patience and a bit of grace” as the number of daily infections rose.
The seven-day average of daily coronavirus cases increased to 1,254 on March 29 from 996 a week earlier. It is still well below the number of cases during the Omicron-fuelled surge in January, when the seven-day average case count topped 40,000.
The seven-day average number of Covid-19 patients in New York hospitals has been below 40 for the past month, city data show. It topped 1,000 during the first week of January.
Dr. Vasan said he wanted to exercise “an abundance of caution” for younger children who are ineligible for coronavirus vaccines.
On March 7, New York City dropped its requirement that children in grades K-12 wear masks in schools, but it kept the mask mandate for younger children who aren’t old enough to be vaccinated. The city also dropped requirements for patrons of restaurants and other businesses to show proof of vaccination.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends universal school masking only in communities where Covid-19 levels are high. All five counties in New York City were considered low risk by the CDC on Friday.
New York still requires that city workers be vaccinated, and mandates vaccination for private employees who don’t work remotely. Last week, Mr. Adams announced an exemption to the mandate for professional athletes on New York teams after Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was sidelined for home games.
Mr. Vasan said he wanted to exercise “an abundance of caution” for younger children and said the city believed higher case rates justified the continuing mask mandate.
Wall Street Journal
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