Appellate court upholds Eric Adams' NYC school mask rule for kids under 5

On late Friday, an Appellate Division Judge upholds New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ mask mandate for kids under 5.

In his order, Brooklyn-based appeals judge Paul Wooten allows Adams to temporarily keep the mandate in place as the case is litigated between the administration and a parent group opposed to masking young children.

Wooten scheduled a hearing for April 11 on the matter.

Meanwhile, Adams on Friday has decided to keep the mask mandate for kids below five due to the BA.2 variant of COVID has caused him and his health experts to reassess.

Adams has initially vowed to scrap the mask mandate for kids below five this Monday.

“Every decision we make is with our children’s health and safety in mind,” Adams wrote.

“Children between 2 and 4 should continue to wear their masks in school and daycare come Monday,” Adams added.

Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan declined to give a new date when the administration may again consider allowing the toddlers to go without masks, only saying that his team is “reassessing the data every day.”