New York to roll back indoor mask mandate: report

New York will roll back its indoor mask-or-vaccine mandate on Wednesday, three sources familiar with the situation told The New York Times.

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to announce the change on Wednesday as Democrats around the country revisit coronavirus mandates in light of the omicron coronavirus wave seemingly beginning to recede. 

For months, New York has mandated that indoor businesses check a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status or require mask wearing as cases increased with the winter and omicron variant. 

It is still unclear if the mask mandate for schools will remain in effect. The deadline to renew the measure is in two weeks, according to the Times. Other Democratic states such as New Jersey and Delaware recently dropped school mask mandates. 

Hochul’s decision comes as the indoor business mask mandate is set to expire Thursday. 

The moves from Democrats to drop vaccine and mask requirements come after Republicans fought for months to get the measures rescinded. 

The White House is standing by its mask recommendations despite the states’ moves, saying children in school should still wear masks. 

“We recommend masking in schools. That is the recommendation from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]. It is also true that at some point when the science and the data warrants, of course, our hope is that is no longer the recommendation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.