New York City to lift indoor vaccine mandate, school mask requirement on Monday

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images Entertainment

From Monday, New York City will no longer require vaccine mandates for indoor spaces, and children will not have to wear masks in public schools, Mayor Eric Adams announced during a news conference in Times Square on Friday.

The rolling back of some of the most stringent COVID-19 measures the city has implemented comes amid the falling number of coronavirus cases and rising vaccinations, Adams said.

The COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped 1.8% in New York City and with over 80% vaccination rate, the city can ease restrictions with confidence, Adams noted.

“This is about giving people the flexibility that is needed to continue allow not only safety, but we have to get our economy back on track.” “It’s time to open our city and get the economy back up and operating.”

The reversal of policy is likely to have a favorable impact on movie theaters, concert venues, and sports arenas where mask mandates and vaccine requirements have been in pace for nearly a year.

“Two years ago we were the epicenter and two months ago we were once again the epicenter with the Omicron variant,” he said. “It’s been two years of pain, heartbreak and uncertainty. … But we dug deep, and we got through.”

Previously on Sunday, Adams said that the city is likely to lift the indoor vaccine requirements and mask mandates from Mar. 07 due to a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases.

Comments

[Mason A]

Apparently people here have really short term memory (or are just making politically motivated comments). Mask mandates were dropped last year as well when case counts got low. Let's hope the mandates stay away.

[Little Dude]

So many people here who are so scared of a little shot, and so fragile that they're inconvenienced by a piece of cloth. Must be old people, cuz the kids didn't care and were willing to take simple steps to help stop people dying or getting really sick.

No, neither the vax nor the masks were 100% effective, but neither is a goalie, but you have more of a chance of winning with a goalie than without (and don't be stupid and say "well, what about when you're team is down by a goal with a minute left". You know that's not the point).

And yes, the vax and the masks prevented this situation from being worse. I know, some people didn't wear masks or get the vax and never got sick. But, you know, anecdotes vs statistics.

[Stakov]

@Little Dude Are you just pretending to be dense or are you actually misinterpreting people being opposed to force and mandate as being scared of cloth and vaccine?

[Busted IPO Forum]

@Little Dude

And so many are such Sheeple that they will wear masks for two years to virtue signal and blindly comply even though the CDC now says again they do next to nothing to stop the spread. They will take their 18th booster shot for an experimental therapeutic that has no long term testing done yet...Of course, most of these same folks vote for a party that believes in socialism, defunding the police and that there are 16 genders now...

[Maobama]

@Little Dude You miss the point. You are assuming people were scared of a "little shot" or inconvenienced by a "piece of cloth" but its really about individuality. Marxist conformists simply want everyone to play along with their warped sense of collectivism. Those that refuse to submit to these demented ideologues are accused of being ignorant, racist, nazis, white supremacists, misogynists or truckers.

There is virtually no data on effectiveness of mask wearing. If you disagree post the peer reviewed study here. Over time we'll find the vax
was virtually useless as well. Once again post any peer reviewed journal that proves the 93% efficacy which was promised by Fauci, Wallensky, et.al. was accurate.

Cherry picking anecdotes and statistics isn't really science nor is mandating a "vaccine" which allowed "breakthrough" cases to infect people really the definition of a vaccine. Trotting out the unproven tripe of "we kept people out of hospitals because of the vaccine" as your evidence and you would be argued out of a courtroom.

If all these mitigation measures worked this wouldn't have gone on for 2+ years, but I'm sure you'll just blame that on the unvaccinated too. Maybe aim your sense of moral superiority at the EcoHealth Alliance, Fauci, NIH, Wuhan Institute of Virology or WHO to find the genesis of COVID. Instead of criticizing those that question the wisdom of collective decision making, why no question the liars and propagandists that sow fear and control the narrative. But nah why would you do any of that? Your a guy who clearly knows everything.

[Awatt127]

So Putin killed covid

[Dividend Seeker]

The political science has changed. Amazing how ignorant the public has to be not to see through this.

[Stakov]

@Dividend Seeker It's (D)ifferent.

[Karl Kelly]

@Dividend Seeker polling is a type of science. So yes, technically the science changed. Just not the one that they are using to justify these whip lash inducing changes

[tlapp]

Bummer the masks were so convenient when you needed to do a little "shopping" on the way home from school. No worries Alvin Bragg won't prosecute you even with your face on the security camera.

[Apt Learner]

Where's Fauci?

[Safety Dance]

@Apt Learner He's off acid washing hard drives most likely.

[Stocks&dumbells]

@Apt Learner witness protection I heard

[the dogman]

Why wait until Monday, start today

[Willow Street Investments]

@the dogman Because they want to make it seem a considered opinion as opposed to arbitrary B.S. that we have all been subject to for 2 years.

[Finding Your Retirement]

but i thought hospitals were full

[funkskunk]

@Finding Your Retirement Full of dancing nurses during a pandemic. The hospitals were so full that bed capacity was actually cut along with cuts to experienced workers who resisted jabs. These workers were praised as heroes in 2020 but were smeared as the dirty unvaxxed in 2021.

[JMS89]

Thank god every day i own my destiny and didn't have to comply with some governmental or employer vax mandate. Silly!! Don't believe this will help Brandon and Co. during the midterms....they are finally hitting the average and middle class where it hurts... pocket books! Imagine all of these people who drive around leased trucks and suv's who can BARELY afford to drive them as it is paying 4-5 dollars a gallon in fuel to commute to work. Their votes will reflect their frustrations i would imagine.

[Busted IPO Forum]

Pandemic officially ends almost two years to the day.....Covid ended up being like BLM.....as soon as it started polling overwhelmingly negative, it just went away..SCIENCE!....I doubt we will see MRNA hit nearly $500 a share again in my lifetime...

*NYC TO SUSPEND VACCINE REQUIREMENTS STARTING ON MARCH 7'

[yhoomajor]

It's amazing how approaching midterm elections have solved Covid crisis literally overnight.

[funkskunk]

What about the thousands of health care and municipal workers who lost their jobs because they did not kneel at the vax altar?

[brainleft]

@funkskunk obviously someone should be sued, Biden doesn't know what's happening unless it's hair or ice cream. so fauci it is.

[Maobama]

Just like. Poof! It's gone...

Our politicians are absolute imbeciles

[DadRuss72]

Masks never did anything anyway.
A FITTED n95 mask keeps out 95% of particles .30 microns or greater.
The Covid virus is .125 microns.
It was always stupid anyway. Where I live they shut down restaurants with police force who weren't requiring masks.
It was always about control and justifying out of control government agencies on power trips.

[kyle191]

@DadRuss72 ..I have told people that about a million times!! I have some decent experience in respiratory protection in working environments.

99% of people tell me I am a jerk that wants to kill old people. When I reply, "Well, does that negate the science and engineering behind masks that don't work to filter out a virus?"

They say, "You probably voted for Trump too!"

People hate it when you debunk their "Magic Shield Fantasy"

[Stocks&dumbells]

@DadRuss72 I followed the people there who were walking into the restaurants maskless and no vax pass getting arrested and was hilarious they would call 5-6 police cars for six people, arrest and haul them away then all the charges got dismissed in court since not a law...quite a few did this many times over.

[funkskunk]

The power of (political) science!

[sunnivo]

Any person who complies with these experimental drug "passports" is complicit in the destruction of human freedoms. It's ridiculous that so many called tolerant regions instituted segregation against a group of people.

[V1001]

I saw where in I think it was California the entire high school of kids did a walk out in protest to the insanity of forceful mask wearing. There is hope when you see children willing to stand up to tyranny.

[WitheringSmithers]

Very brave decision! Took tremendous courage!

[CS15]

This is going to drive the COVID religion zealots nuts!

[V1001]

The book of Covid 3:20: And thou shall act hysterical and be afraid at all times, thou shall cause tyranny to spread through the earth, your politicians are your Gods and we demand so. Go forth and create havoc for the people and nations.

[Rikki Tikki Tavi]

@V1001 so true…

[Safety Dance]

@CS15 Yeah where will all the COVID Nazi's go in times like this. I guess it's back to taking down statues of American icons while wearing their best let's go Brandon t shirts in a non-ironic fashion.

[VoiceofSanitySometimes]

Time for a vaccine card bonfire. I'll bring the marshmallows.