Gov. Kathy Hochul says it’s too soon to tell when schools will stop requiring masks

Albany, New York – According to Gov. Kathy Hochul, there’s no estimate for when schools can stop requiring masks.

Earlier this week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said he planned to drop the school mask mandate in mid-January. On Wednesday, a court ruling overturned Wolf’s mask mandate. And then Wolf’s administration issued an appeal.

Gov. Kathy Hochul responded to this topic on Tuesday saying in part:

“If parents do the right thing all over the state, get their kids vaccinated. There will come a time when there’s no reason to wear a mask, that every child is safe. But we need compliance. And in some communities it’s stronger than others. So let’s get the kids vaccinated. I don’t have a date. I’m not going to prejudge this. There’s no way I can know. I need to know how people are doing, are a lot of people getting vaccinated, or is there an early rush and then it plateaus and then half the kids in the class aren’t protected. That’s what I’m watching. I’m always driven by the numbers. So that’s why I can’t say, “on this date, we’re going to do X.”

School leaders said they’ll follow the county health department’s recommendations.

According to Albany County, it’s too soon to tell, and they’ll continue to look at the science and data to determine what’s best for the county residents.