New York City Mayor Eric Adams is nixing a mask mandate on city schoolchildren and the rules that had required restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues to check for proof of COVID-19 vaccination at the door.
Both requirements will be lifted as of Monday.
The Democratic mayor cited high vaccination rates, including 87% of adults and 77% of all ages, in the city and a marked drop in COVID-19 cases for the change as he presses the Big Apple to regain its mojo following crushing waves of the pandemic.
Mr. Adams said everyone from Arkansas to Canada should know the city is open for business.
“Spend some money,” he said Friday during an event in Manhattan’s Times Square. “Folks can come in and enjoy the restaurants, enjoy the businesses in this great city without having to show proof of vaccination.”
The city is averaging fewer than 700 cases per day, down from around 40,000 at the peak of the omicron wave in mid-January. Mr. Adams said restaurants and other venues can still require proof of vaccination if they want to, but it will be their choice.
“COVID is still here, but we are beating it back,” he said. “We have to get our economy back on track.”
Mr. Adams said he always felt city schools were safe, but the decision to relax mask rules will lift spirits.
“I know you missed it, and I missed it. We want to see the faces of our children,” the mayor said. “We want to see their smiles. We want to see how happy they are. We want to see when they’re sad so we can comfort them.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, lifted a state mask mandate on schools earlier last week.
Mr. Adams said city COVID-19 requirements were effective while they were in place. He heaped unusual praise on his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, saying the former mayor faced impossible choices during the pandemic and staved off worse outcomes from the virus with measures that weren’t always popular.
“New Yorkers are not used to being told what to do. You know how we are. You tell us to go right, we want to go left just because you told us,” Mr. Adams said.
Mr. Adams said he will be unafraid to change city policies again if the virus changes its behavior.
For now, New York City Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said the city is looking to better days after a traumatic pandemic.
“We’ve lost friends, neighbors, loved ones — nearly 40,000, each of whom has a name, a family a story,” Dr. Chokshi said.
Dr. Chokshi also released new guidance that describes the city risk level from low to high and prescribes precautions that individuals can take to protect themselves.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.