Frustrated New York City parents will today file a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court seeking to overturn the mask mandate for children under five — the only Covid restriction the NYC mayor didn’t lift last week.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed last Wednesday that the United States’ most populous city would remove its mandates requiring masks for public school children aged five and over and proof of vaccination to dine out or enter entertainment venues.
But Adams kept the mandate in place for children under 5, despite there being zero risk of Covid infection for them, because they are ineligible for vaccination.
About a dozen parents from throughout the five boroughs will argue in court that the city must pass a law justifying the need to continue requiring such a ‘harmful’ mandate, reported the New York Daily News reported.
‘These aren’t just dress-code policies that have no impact on someone’s life. For many of us, this is something we find harmful for our children. We want to have the choice whether to do it or not,’ the group’s attorney, Michael Chessa, told the news outlet.
‘If the Department of Health sees fit to put these into place, then they have to bring them to the City Council and the City Council has to say, “OK, we’re going to pass these city laws,” ‘ added Chessa, who is a former Brooklyn assistant district attorney.
About a dozen New York City parents will file a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court today seeking to overturn the mask mandate forcing children under 5 to continue wearing face coverings, while children five and over are free to remove theirs
The parents plan to argue in court that the city must pass a law justifying the need to continue the mandate for children under five
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed last Wednesday that the United States’ most populous city would remove its mandates requiring masks for public school children aged five and proof of vaccination to dine out or enter entertainment venues
A Change.org petition demanding an end to the seemingly unending rule has garnered 4,516 signatures as of Monday morning.
It contains a letter addressed to New York Health Commissioner Dr Mary T Bassett, and links to articles which back up the petitions’ point.
The authors write: ‘The national conversation around mandatory masking is now shifting to acknowledge the development, mental and social detriments these policies are causing children right now.
‘In fact, the World Health Organization has never recommended masks for children under 5 years old and only limited circumstances for children under 11.
‘We ask you to join surrounding states and end mandatory masking in schools and daycares now. ALL children but especially those with speech delays, learning disabilities, social anxieties, sensory issues and on the spectrum deserve better.’
The letter adds: ‘There are now growing calls for children to learn with optional masking, as there is no clear evidence to show that masking children indefinitely has curbed this pandemic and kept schools “safe.”
‘With most adults now vaccinated, our state of New York boasts an 84.3% completed vaccination series, the time is now to advocate for children who remain naturally protected against severe illness and death from COVID-19.’
The change in mask policy came last week, as the infection rate in the city plummeted to 671 cases a day. That is an 11.6% drop from the week before, with just 1.8% of all tests now coming back positive. The school positivity rate is 0.18%, Adams said Friday.
The decision to force children under five to continue wearing masks comes even though just 307 children aged between 0 and four have died of COVID in the whole of the US since the pandemic began in spring 2020, according to the latest CDC data.
Chessa, who has a three-year-old daughter and 15-year-old boy in public schools, said that he and the parents joining the lawsuit are not against wearing masks.
‘Nothing I am doing is anti-mask. All I am doing is pro-choice. I am just pushing this so that parents have the choice to do what they want,’ he told the New York Daily News.
