De Blasio, Adams Face Off Over Masking School Children

NEW YORK CITY — Call it a face off — New York City's current and future mayors disagree over when to lift a mask mandate for school children.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams raised eyebrows Sunday when he said he wanted to end a face covering requirement for children as soon as possible. Doing so will help the socialization process for children, he said.

“If we can find a safe way to do it, I look forward to getting rid of the mask,” Adams said on CNN’s "State of the Union."

But Mayor Bill de Blasio and his top health officials on Monday had a different take. He diplomatically said everyone aspires to end the mask rule.

“I would love to free our kids and educators and staff from it,” he said. “But right now it’s too soon for that action, in my view.”

Children have been wearing masks in schools as part of a spate of anti-coronavirus measures. Those actions have kept COVID-19 levels low — just 7,000 cases for students and staff out of roughly 1 million people in schools, according to city data.

And expanded coronavirus vaccine eligibility for 5- to 11-year-olds has only added protections to students and teachers.

Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said mask wearing likely will continue to be a requirement for the near future.

“I think we all look forward to the day when our kids can take their masks off, but that is not today,” he said.