School mask mandate ending: Landmark moment in COVID-19 fight arrives

For the first time in two years, since a deadly pandemic descended on Long Island and around the world, thousands of school children were poised to attend classes Wednesday in what was once the familiar fashion — no masks, no hybrid learning, no half-empty classrooms.

With Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate being lifted, children in kindergarten and first grade will for the first time see the faces of their classmates and teachers inside classrooms without any coverings.

It stood to be a landmark moment amid a COVID-19 crisis that has divided communities and even families, provoked lawsuits, engendered suspicion of doctors and scientists, jammed hospitals with patients, overwhelmed funeral parlors, generated conspiracy theories and killed more than 900,000 Americans.

School leaders earlier on Tuesday pointed to lingering questions related to the dropping of the mandate, including over whether masks would be required on school buses and details of quarantine and isolation policies.

Some answers came on Tuesday evening, when the state released guidelines related to the mask mandate ending.

The guidelines state that masks will not be required on buses, and that "close contacts" who are exposed to a classmate with COVID-19 will not have to be removed from the classroom.

The guidelines define a "close contact" as "a person, regardless of vaccination status, who was less than 6 feet away from an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period."

These people should mask for 10 days and get tested, the guidelines say, but do not have to miss any class. Students who test positive will need to isolate for five days, and then mask for five more upon returning. A negative test is required, among other potential school- or district-specific criteria, for students who are symptomatic after the five-day period.

The state guidance also says that effective Feb. 25, the "CDC does not require masks wearing on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/after-school programs."

Hochul announced on Sunday that she is dropping the mask mandate. It was two days after the CDC said Long Island is now a "green zone" where masks no longer need to be required.

COVID-19 levels have dropped markedly since the omicron surge broke records in early January.

School districts and individual schools can still require masks if they want to do so. Families also have the option to send their children to school with masks.

Most school districts appeared to be going mask-optional, but at least one, Uniondale, said it would continue to require the face coverings until Monday.

District officials notified parents Tuesday night that students and staff will continue to wear masks in the district until Monday.

"Out of an abundance of caution and what the Uniondale Board of Education and I believe is in the best interests of our students, faculty and district staff, as well as the absence of new guidance from the state or our local health department, we have decided to maintain a mask wearing requirement in our schools until Monday, March 7, 2022," read a note from Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil.

"We appreciate that this decision is not what some in our District were hoping for once the Governor lifted the mask mandate," she wrote. "However, in the past, our District has experienced an uptick in the positivity rate of infection following a school break. We have just returned from our winter recess. We feel it prudent to wait the additional few days to ensure we will not be experiencing another uptick before we remove the mask mandate."

Earlier Tuesday, more school districts announced they will go mask-optional. So did Suffolk County Community College.

The Freeport district said masks will no longer be required in school or on school buses.

The district’s superintendent, Kishore Kuncham, had previously told Newsday he was weighing the possibility of making masks optional in the high school and middle school, but requiring them in elementary school because of that age group's low vaccination level.

On the district website on Tuesday, Kuncham wrote that "while masks are optional, individuals are encouraged to still wear a mask if they so choose. If you are unsure or believe it is too soon, mask wearing is recommended in an abundance of caution."

He also warned that people need to be respectful of anyone whose chooses to wear a mask.

Kuncham added that "although our region is currently considered a low-risk area, COVID-19 is still not over and, if necessary, the return of mask wearing may occur for all students and staff."

Students, teachers and parents hope Wednesday marks a turning point in the pandemic.

Schools were shut down statewide in March 2020 as health officials confirmed the virus had arrived in New York. Soon, New York City, Long Island and the region became a global COVID-19 hot spot, with thousands of new cases a day.

Schools developed and launched a virtual learning apparatus, before in-person education resumed in September 2020, with everyone wearing a mask and hybrid learning protocols in effect.

That meant classes would often have some component of students in the classroom, while others learned remotely at home.

Eventually, full classes resumed, but the masks stayed on.

They come off on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, other districts on Long Island also communicated with parents about what to expect in the classroom and on buses. Many noted that test kits remain available to be picked up by families.

In Roosevelt, school officials said they conducted surveys of parents and staff to determine that the district will move toward an optional mask policy on Wednesday. Officials said mask-wearing will be optional on buses as well, according to a letter from Superintendent Deborah Wortham posted to the district website.

"While wearing a face mask is still encouraged for all students and staff, it will not be required," she wrote. "Parents, staff and students will choose the wearing of masks in a healthy, safe, supported and engaged learning environment."

With Dandan Zou

Sign up to get text alerts about COVID-19 and other topics at newsday.com/text.