Mask mandate on mass transit is over

 

Queens Post

The state’s mask mandate for public transit has been lifted, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

Hochul said the state will immediately end masking rules on subways, buses, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road. The new policy also applies to airports, for-hire vehicles, correctional facilities, detention centers and homeless shelters.

The governor said that while the masks are no longer required, their use should be encouraged. Signs will be posted on the subway and in transit areas that will promote mask use but make clear that they are optional.

There's the sign above. These are the people that want to induce congestion pricing on people. Confederacy of dunces 2022.

Meet the new public health boss, same as the old public health boss

The city's new smug asshole doctor

 

 NY Daily News

Mayor Adams’ newly minted health commissioner recommended Friday that the city should indefinitely maintain its mask mandate for kids younger than 5, striking a more cautious tone than his boss, who would prefer to scrap the restriction sooner rather than later.

Dr. Ashwin Vasan laid out the case for continued pandemic caution during a COVID-19 briefing in Queens, his first since taking over as the city’s health commissioner earlier this week.

The two primary coronavirus restrictions that remain in effect are the school mask mandate for kids younger than 5 and the vaccine mandate for the city’s private workforce — and Vasan said he believes neither of those requirements should be lifted anytime soon.

“I think it’s indefinite at this point,” Vasan said of the workforce mandate, which requires all private employees in the Big Apple to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “People who have tried to predict what’s going to happen in the future in this pandemic have repeatedly found egg on their face, as they say, and I’m not going to do that here today.”

In terms of the mask mandate for kids younger than 5, Vasan offered a personal plea for why it shouldn’t be rescinded for the time being.

“I would love nothing more than to send my son to daycare without a mask,” said Vasan, whose kid is 4. “But as a scientist ... I want to keep him safe because he’s not eligible for a vaccine.”

 

Throw away your keys to New York City

 

 NY Daily News 

Starting Monday, New Yorkers will no longer need to show proof of vaccination for indoor activities like dining and kids won’t have to wear face masks in school, Mayor Adams announced Friday as coronavirus infections continue to drop statewide.

The rollback of pandemic precautions was expected, as Adams said earlier this week that the indoor Key2NYC vaccine mandate and school masking requirement would go away this Monday barring an “unforeseen spike” in COVID-19 cases.

Still, the mayor’s official announcement at a Friday morning press conference marked a major reversal in the city’s approach to fighting the virus, which continues to kill dozens of New Yorkers every day.

“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,” Adams said in Times Square. “It’s time to open our city and get the economy back up and operating.”

The Key to NYC will die, the masks are coming off

 

NY Post

Vaccine passports will no longer be required in New York City starting March 7, Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday — and he plans on lifting school mask mandates then, too, barring “unforeseen spikes” in COVID cases.

Adams said he plans on following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead in nixing masks in schools but would make the final determination this Friday.

“At the end of this week, we will evaluate the numbers and make a final announcement on Friday. If we see no unforeseen spikes and our numbers continue to show a low level of risk, New York City will remove the indoor mask mandate for public school children,” Hizzoner said in a statement.

But he said starting March 7, patrons at Big Apple restaurants, gyms and indoor venues will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination.

“Additionally, New York City’s numbers continue to go down day after day, so, as long as COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also lift Key2NYC requirements,” the mayor said, referring to rules imposed last year by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining, indoor fitness, indoor entertainment and certain meeting spaces.

NY Post

Mask mandates in public schools across New York will be lifted this Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday — and she feels “confident” Big Apple Mayor Eric Adams will follow suit but said it’s ultimately up to him.

Speaking from Albany, Hochul said local governments would now be empowered to set their own school mask requirements in accordance with new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday that reclassified much of the state as “low risk” for COVID infection.

“Given the decline in our rates, our hospitalizations, strong vaccination rates and the CDC guidance, we, friends, the day has come,” Hochul said. “Today we are going to be announcing that we’ll be lifting the statewide mask requirement in schools, and that’ll be effective this Wednesday, March 2.”

Hochul said she had spoken to Mayor Eric Adams and “feels confident” he will follow her lead and yank the city’s school mask requirement, but declined to speak on his behalf.

“My position is to empower the local governments to make the decisions for their entire county. But I’ve always said that if there are entities within and we’re going to whether it’s a city, a school district and school if they choose to be more restrictive. We will not prohibit that whatsoever,” she said.

Mayor Swagger plans to lift indoor mandate but not workplace mandate

  

NY Daily News

Mayor Adams plans to roll back the city’s coronavirus vaccine and mask mandates for indoor settings as infection rates continue to drop across New York.

The mayor didn’t give an exact timeline for when he envisions ending the longstanding pandemic precautions, but told reporters at an unrelated press conference in Brooklyn Wednesday that rescinding the “Key to NYC” vaccination requirement for dining and other indoor activities is a top priority for him.

“I can’t wait to get it done,” Adams said.

Unprompted, Adams then suggested he’s also looking to relax or even outright scrap the city’s rules on mask-wearing.

“I look forward in the next few weeks to going through a real transformation that I don’t have to wonder what you look like. I will know what you look like again,” he said, motioning to masked reporters in the room.

Under current city rules, masks must be worn in schools, health care settings, many entertainment venues and while on public transit. The city also recommends that masks be worn in congested public indoor spaces, like grocery stores.

Coronavirus vaccinations, meantime, are mandated for most public indoor activities, like drinking and eating at restaurants and bars.

 Though he’s targeting “Key to NYC” for tweaks, Adams has no plans to revisit the private employer mandate, according to a City Hall official.

Eric Adams plans to demask students

NY Daily News 

Mayor-elect Eric Adams said Sunday he would like to see mask mandates at schools lifted by the end of the academic year, now that children are eligible for COVID vaccines.

“Not being able to see the smiles of our children, I believe that has a major impact,” New York City’s incoming mayor said on CNN.

He sounded a different tone than outgoing Mayor de Blasio, who said on Thursday that he wanted to keep the school mask mandate in place, at least in the short term, “out of an abundance of caution.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday for children ages 5 to 11.

“If we can find a safe way to do it, I look forward to getting rid of the mask, but it must be done with the science,” Adams said. “Part of the development of socialization of a child is that smile.”

Whitestone Republican Club confident pandemic is over

   

Queens Eagle

New York City’s self described “Guardian” put others at risk Wednesday when he went maskless at a crowded indoor Republican club rally in Queens.

Photos shared by an event attendee show GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels vigilante group, without a mask inside a crowded American Legion post during an event hosted by the Whitestone Republican Club — an organization with a history of flouting COVID restrictions. Republican Queens Borough President candidate William Kregler and Council District 19 candidate Vickie Paladino, the club’s president, are also seen without masks inside the hall. 

One photo shows Kregler talking with Charles Vavruska, an aide to Councilmember Robert Holden, while Sliwa stands behind them. None wore masks in the photo. Other pictures show the majority of attendees sans mask inside the crowded wood-paneled room.

“I didn’t feel comfortable with that … it was practically completely maskless,” said the photographer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “I’m a Republican. I voted for Donald Trump twice [but] I don’t want to get COVID.”

They said at least 50 people were present at the event.

Current state rules restrict non-essential indoor gatherings to 50 people or less until March 22 and mandate that people wear masks when unable to remain six feet apart from others.

Sliwa said ditching the mask was a mistake, though he said he did cover his face at others parts of the night.

“I probably should have worn the mask more,” he said. “Upon second thought, more masks should have been worn.”

Food for thought on density

From the NY Post/AP:

Crowded houses and apartments are often cited as a source of spread, particularly in Los Angeles, which has some of the densest neighborhoods in the US Households in and around LA often have several generations — or multiple families — living under one roof. Those tend to be lower-income areas where residents work essential jobs that can expose them to the virus at work or while commuting.

This is exactly the pattern in NYC as well. High income areas, where 2-3 people live together in an apartment, such as LIC, Greenpoint and most of Manhattan, have low spread. A lot of people living together in a small space is going to encourage spread. When Cuomo talks of this being a virus of density, he means the city as a whole. But it's the indoor density that counts.

But also remember that for decades the city's position was that if you push for lower zoning in neighborhoods where illegal conversions are rampant, or demand enforcement of existing occupancy codes, you are a racist. We have groups now pushing for legalizing cellar and attic apartments, which in many cases have no ventilation. This isn't going to stop the spread, but rather encourage it.

Remember this as the dope-a-crats chide people over wearing masks and wanting to eat indoors. This entire pandemic response is a classic case of tweeding in lieu of actually governing effectively.