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Covid-19: School District In Nassau County Ends Mask Mandate

At least one school district on Long Island will not be adhering to the state's mask mandates for students and staff as the COVID-19 numbers in the region begin to show improvement.

The Massapequa School District will not be enforcing the state's mask mandate as of Feb. 21.

The Massapequa School District will not be enforcing the state's mask mandate as of Feb. 21.

Photo Credit: Daily Voice photo

The Massapequa Board of Education voted to make it optional for students and staff members to wear a mask on school property when the state-ordered mask mandate ends on Monday, Feb. 21.


“The board has spent more than two years reviewing covid health and safety measures and we believe that our educational community will remain safe and students will benefit socially, emotionally, and academically from this move forward,” Massapequa Board President Kerry Wachter said in a statement.

In Suffolk County, a Connetquot school official also reportedly said that the district would not be enforcing mask-wearing, though others said the district was adhering to the mandate.


“It makes no sense to be treating children in a school setting different than how we treat them in stores, restaurants, social gatherings, and children's parties," Board of Education Vice President Jeanine Caramore added. "Why should school be a different situation? We are making them hate and fear school. Let's make them love school again. Let's let a kindergarten teacher see those smiles and hear an unobstructed giggle."

Newly appointed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman previously issued an executive order allowing schools to make their own decisions regarding masks, though he has received pushback from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who initially issued the mandate.

“I find it phenomenally disappointing that people are willing to play politics with children's lives,” Hochul said during her most recent COVID-19 briefing on Friday, Jan. 21. “And you heard what I said, schools were the safer place for children - not when they went home.

“They got sick when they went home during the holidays. Schools are safe, and why are they safe? People have been wearing masks, kids have been wearing masks, and they're adapting to it.

The positive COVID-19 rate in New York dipped below 10 percent on Thursday, Jan. 20 after spiking near 25 percent after the post-holiday surge of new infections.

“It's not something we're going to keep much longer, we know we don't have to - but this has kept children safe in a learning environment,” Hochul said.

“I fully expect school boards and other leaders to recognize how important this has been, and why our children are safe - we're seeing fewer hospitalized, fewer sicker because they've been able to be in an environment like a school where they have been enforcing this."

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