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.

Was this today????

 

AMNY

The city will deploy inspectors to enforce the vaccine mandate for restaurants, bars, gyms, and other indoor venues starting Monday, Sept. 13.

Municipal workers will check on the businesses to make sure they require workers and patrons aged 12 or older to have at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the new regime last month, when the policy known as Key to NYC first went into effect on Aug. 17, giving businesses almost four weeks to prepare for the requirements.

“This is going to reach hundreds of thousands of people and convince them it’s time,” de Blasio said at the time. “We know this is going to work because New Yorkers love our arts, our culture, entertainment, restaurants — they’re part of who we are.”

The mandate covers eateries, indoor fitness, and entertainment venues like movie theaters, museums, and concert halls, and de Blasio hopes the measures will boost inoculations among younger New Yorkers, who still lag well behind older residents for vaccination rates.

“I am absolutely certain this is going to motivate a lot of people to get vaccinated, particularly young people,” he said in August. “We know one of the biggest areas of concern is reaching younger New Yorkers.”

Hizzoner said New Yorkers can show proof with the paper card, the Excelsior Pass, or the NYC COVID SAFE app.

NYPD won’t be part of the enforcement, which will instead have civilian inspectors from 13 city agencies, such as FDNY, Department of Health, Buildings, Sanitation, and Transportation.