New York State Cancels One Of The Last Remaining Mask Mandates This Weekend: What You Need To Know

One of New York’s latest mask mandates comes to an end this weekend, shortly before the three-year anniversary of the state’s first known cases of COVID-19.

State health officials announced Friday that they will be ending mandatory masks and face coverings in healthcare facilities effective February 12. The updated guidance is in line with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they said.

“The pandemic is not over yet, but we are moving towards a transition. As we do this, and through safe and effective vaccines, treatments, and more, we can remove state mask requirements in healthcare facilities as operators now develop and implement their own facility-specific plans in line with CDC federal guidance. and the level of transmission in their areas,” Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.

Institutions such as nursing homes, hospitals, home care agencies and hospices, as well as diagnostic and treatment centers, were required to ensure masks were worn.

In Friday’s announcement, the state indicates that the increase in transmission could result in the return of mandatory masking if recommended by the CDC.

Few, if any, mask mandates remain in or out of state as politicians lift protections as the pandemic prepares to enter its fourth year.

The same day the state announced it, New York City’s mandate to vaccinate city workers expired. Its policy, one of the strictest in the country, no longer requires incoming workers to be vaccinated.

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