Aliyah Siddiqui
International Assistant Editor
As the number of Covid-19 cases has dropped across the nation, several states have announced dropping indoor mask mandates or school mask mandates in the coming weeks, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Illinois, Nevada, Washington and Oregon.
The states have varying policies, however, depending on the facility or vaccination status.
New Jersey’s Governor, Phil Murphy, announced on Feb. 7 that students and school employees will not be required to wear a mask in school starting March 7. This decision was based on the decline in cases and severity of the disease, and Pfizer’s request to the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine for children under the age of five. Murphy also said that March was chosen as temperatures would climb, allowing schools to open windows to improve ventilation. According to Murphy, removing masks would be a “huge step toward normalcy.”
“This is not a declaration of victory as much as an acknowledgment that we can responsibly live with this thing,” Murphy said.
Connecticut has also announced that students and school staff will not be required to wear masks in schools by Feb. 28. This decision was also based on the decline in Covid-19 cases and the state’s high vaccination rates. Connecticut’s Governor, Ned Lamont, also added that after Feb. 28, mayors and superintendents can make local masking decisions.
“I think today, with boosters, given vaccines, given the N95 masks, you're in a better position to keep yourself safe,” Lamont said. “Your child is in a better position to keep him or herself safe.”
Connecticut is still mandating masks, however, in health care facilities, homeless shelters, and corrections facilities.
According to The New York Times, Pennsylvania has already ended their masking requirements for schools on Jan. 17, while Nevada and Rhode Island ended their indoor mask mandates on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11 respectively. Massachusetts is also ending its school mask mandate on Feb. 28, while Delaware is ending its masking mandate for schools and childcare facilities on March 31. Delaware’s indoor masking requirements for businesses and workplaces, however, expired on Feb. 11. New York has also ended its indoor mask-or-vaccine requirement for businesses on Feb. 10.
“It was an emergency temporary measure put in place literally two months ago,” New York’s Governor, Kathy Hochal, said. “And at this time, we say that it is the right decision to lift this mandate for indoor businesses and let counties, cities and businesses to make their own decisions on what they want to do with respect to masks or the vaccination requirement. Given the declining cases, given declining hospitalizations, that is why we feel comfortable to lift this in effect tomorrow.”
Governor Hochal has not lifted the school mask mandate yet but plans to make a decision in early March.
California will end its indoor mask mandate on Feb. 15, but masks will still be required indoors for unvaccinated individuals and everyone in high-risk settings, such as hospitals and schools. Illinois will lift its indoor mask requirement on Feb. 28, and Oregon will lift its statewide mask requirement by March 31. Washington is also dropping its outdoor mask mandate on Feb. 18, but the indoor mask mandate and school mask mandate is still in place.
These masking rescissions come against the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendations. Wearing masks, which have been proven to lower the chance of contracting Covid-19, is still recommended by the CDC in indoor settings according to an interview with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC Director on the radio show “Midday.”
The CDC “still recommends that all schools encourage students to wear well-fitting masks consistently and while indoors,” Dr. Walensky said. “And that's consistent with our guidance that still also recommends that people mask in public indoor settings in areas of high or substantial transmission.”
