Michelle Del Rey is reporting for the Times Union that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 27 that the state school mask mandate will end March 2, allowing children in New York to attend class without face coverings unless localities issue their own mandates. New York Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary Bassett joined Hochul at the press conference. The mask mandates at SUNY and CUNY colleges and universities will remain in effect. "My friends, the day has come," Hochul said. "This is a huge thank you to all the school districts, superintendents, the school boards, the administrators, the principals, the teachers, the parents and the children themselves. We stood together as a state." While masking in New York schools will no longer be required by the state, Hochul is also leaving it to localities to decide whether to continue mask mandates in schools. Some districts are expected to announce that they will not require masks, but will permit students and employees who want to continue wearing them to do so. Under the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention metrics released Feb. 24, most of New York is either at low or medium risk for COVID-19 and federal officials no longer recommend indoor masking, including in schools, in areas of low to medium risk. Read the full story in the Times Union.