New York state has ended a 28-month-old Covid-19 mandate requiring masks on trains, buses and other modes of public transit, as well as at airports and in ride-share vehicles, Governor Kathy Hochul said. "Starting today masks will be optional," Ms Hochul said at a news conference, citing recent revised guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We have to restore some normalcy to our lives ...
Masks are encouraged but optional." Ms Hochul said the mask requirements were also being lifted for taxis and ride-share vehicles, airports, homeless shelters, correctional facilities and detention centres.
New York first adopted the mandate in April 2020 as Covid-19 was rampaging in the New York City area. "It's always been a visible reminder that something is not normal here, and it was there for the right reason.
It protected health and now we're in a far different place," Ms Hochul said. In recent months, however, many riders in New York had stopped observing the mask policy.