Going into Monday morning, parents, kids and educators were split on the end of NYC's school mask mandate—many fervently supporting the change, many equally passionate against it and many in the middle who said they hope this is the right move.
As of Monday, public school staff and kids in kindergarten through 12th grade can choose whether to wear masks or not in buildings and on school buses.
Infections in the city are down, but they are not gone: 77% of city adults are fully vaccinated, but only about half of public school children are. While a handful of schools have student vaccination rates over 90%, hundreds are still below 25%, with a range in between. Joscelyn Ramos, a senior at Brooklyn Collaborative Studies, said she planned to stay cautious, especially because her mother has a health condition that puts her at higher risk. “Personally I’m still going to choose to keep my mask on,” she said. “I think it’s weird to go in on a random Monday and say, 'Yeah pandemic’s over, I don’t need a mask.' I think it’s still something to watch out for.
Meanwhile, many parents of very young children who will have to stay masked for now said they were furious and some planned to rally at City Hall.
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