New York City public school children head to their first day of class without masks.

A current research from the state well being division discovered that, as with adults, most youngsters hospitalized for or with Covid-19 had been unvaccinated. The report additionally discovered that youngsters aged 4 or youthful, who will not be eligible for coronavirus vaccines, had been overrepresented amongst all pediatric hospitalizations. Masks are nonetheless required in New York Metropolis for youngsters ages 2 to 4 in kindergarten and preschool lecture rooms.

The United Federation of Academics, which represents town’s public college educators, stated on Friday that it supported shifting to a system the place masks are non-compulsory. President Michael Mulgrew referred to as it “the accountable, considerate solution to make our subsequent transition.”

Even so, the union harassed the significance of sustaining a sturdy in-school and take-home coronavirus testing program, to make sure that town, with a couple of million youngsters in its public faculties, remained “on the fitting path.”

Some mother and father, public well being specialists, and native officers have stated that it was too early to ease restrictions, and a few have urged youngsters and academics to proceed to put on masks.

With the statewide mandate gone, some districts started going maskless final week.

A sophisticated combination of feelings was on show on the Cynthia Jenkins Elementary Faculty within the Springfield Gardens neighborhood of Queens, the place about 11 p.c of the college’s college students are absolutely vaccinated.

Natalie Charles, the mom of a second-grader, Ethan Scarlett, stated that she was not totally snug with dropping masks. “That is what I informed him, it’s a must to hold the masks on,” she stated, including that her total household was vaccinated.

Ms. Charles questioned why the masks mandate was ending whereas faculties had been nonetheless testing college students. These contradictory alerts helped result in her determination, she stated.

A barely shy Ethan, 7, simply nodded whereas masked, agreeing together with his mom.

Sadef Ali Kully, Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Adeel Hassan contributed reporting.