NY Lifts Mask Requirement for Kids 2-5 in Child Care and Day Camps

Children ages 2 to 5 in child care programs and day camps will not be required to wear a mask, New York officials announced.

The state’s Office of Children and Family Services and the Department of Health said both “understand how difficult it is to require the youngest children to wear masks.”

The state agencies added that they have therefore “jointly agreed to revise guidance allowing child care providers to continue the practices and protocols that have been in place since the start of the pandemic by encouraging, not requiring, children aged 2-5 to wear masks, effective immediately.’”

Federal health experts have approved the Pfizer vaccine for children starting at age 12.

“Anyone who has ever cared for a two-year-old knows how difficult it would be to implement [the mask requirement], and asking a daycare worker to keep masks on a room full of toddlers all day is impractical,” said Democratic state Senator Sean Ryan in a statement Monday. “Thankfully, common sense has prevailed.”

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smarcus@hamodia.com