Tag Archives: Public school

Mayor Eric Adams says he’ll make decision on Key 2 NYC, school masks next week; state school masking mandate lifts March 2

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — New York state is dropping it’s school masking mandate Wednesday, but for now, masks will remain in New York City public schools.

Mayor Eric Adams said he will decide next week if students and staff inside city schools can unmask after he takes a look at the numbers this week.

He said he will look at the same indicators before deciding if the Key2NYC mandate, which requires vaccines for restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues, could also go away.

Adams said he is giving businesses the week to adapt while monitoring the numbers, while the city employee vaccine mandate will remain in place for now.

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For many, this is a step in the right direction.

“We think it’s a fantastic thing,” Keuka Kafe and Wine Bar owner Olga Sakhmo said. “People should come out and enjoy themselves.”

Adams released a statement on Sunday, saying in part:

I want to thank the millions of New Yorkers who have gotten vaccinated to help stop the spread. New Yorkers stepped up and helped us save lives by reaching unprecedented levels of vaccination. I also want to thank Governor Hochul for her partnership in the fight against COVID-19 and for making clear that parents should be part of this conversation. Additionally, New York City’s numbers continue to go down day after day, so, as long as COVID indicators show a low level of risk and we see no surprises this week, on Monday, March 7 we will also lift Key2NYC requirements. This will give business owners the time to adapt and will allow us to ensure we are making the best public health decisions for the people of New York.”

Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York announced that in light of the announcement made by Governor Kathy Hochul, they are no longer legally obligated by New York State to mandate mask-wearing in school as of Wednesday March 2, and that effective March 2, the wearing of a mask by an adult or children in all Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York will be recommended but not required.

In addition, most school districts outside the city are lifting their mandates starting Wednesday.

“My friends, the day has come,” said Hochul, citing recent CDC guidance which classified much of the state as “low risk” for coronavirus infection.

Hochul said there will be additional guidance for counties that have a higher positivity rate.

“We will lift the statewide requirement based on all the data,” Hochul said. “However, there are some counties that have higher rate of transmission. We will allow them to determine what is best for their county.”

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She added that parents will have the choice to continue to send their children to school with masks and urged people to not bully those who still chose to wear them.

Hochul also said certain indoor settings like adult care facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and public transit will still have masking guidance.

This announcement moves the original timetable up about a week. Hochul pointed to the CDC guidance and current metrics for making the decision sooner.

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Chicago Teen Wrestling Champ Melissa de la Garza Gunned Down While Sitting in Her Car

A teen wrestling champion was video-chatting with her sister about Halloween costumes minutes before she was shot and killed while parked in her car outside her Chicago home on Saturday night.

Hours later, her family called for justice as gun violence continues to take a devastating toll on the city.

Chicago police said that 18-year-old Melissa de la Garza, who had recently graduated high school and was headed to college at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago, was sitting in her car at around 8:30 p.m. when she was shot multiple times in the torso.

Relatives told WLS that Melissa’s father jetted outside of the house after hearing the deafening gunshots. Local police showed up at the scene minutes later.

“He saw my sister sitting in the car. He was screaming her name, and she wasn’t responding,” Isabel de la Garza said of her father’s final encounter with her older sister, according to a video interview shared by the outlet. “My dad opened the door and just held her.”

Isabel de la Garza was the last person to speak to Melissa before she was shot and rushed to a local hospital, where she ultimately died from her injuries.

“She just seemed so happy in that FaceTime call,” the sister said at a press conference on Sunday.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, at least three people were killed due to gun violence on Friday alone, just a day before Melissa de la Garza was killed. Among 10 others who were wounded in the city that day were a Chicago police officer and a 15-year-old boy.

Jose de la Garza, Melissa’s heartbroken dad, described the teen as a “warrior princess,” during the emotional press conference. She had once been the only female wrestler at Solorio Academy High School and was headed to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago on a scholarship, he said.

“It’s hard to put in words the loss we are feeling, for someone to take away my 18-year-old warrior princess,” he said. “For someone to come and take that away for no reason—it doesn’t make any sense.”

According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, gun violence has killed more than 15,000 people in the United States since the beginning of the year, putting 2021 in close range of 2020, which was the deadliest on record for gun violence in at least two decades, with roughly 20,000 gun-related deaths, excluding suicides.

In May, as the number of Chicago shooting victims rose 34 percent from the same period a year before, Mayor Lori Lightfoot pledged that her administration would direct resources to 15 high-crime areas in an effort to reduce violence throughout the city.

“We owe it to all of our residents, in every neighborhood, to bring peace and vibrancy back,” Lightfoot said at a May 28 news conference addressing Chicago’s summer public safety strategy, according to video shared by WLS.

Chicago Police Department Supt. David Brown said at the time that addressing the root causes of violence was critical.

“It’s not more law enforcement capacity,” he said at the time. “It’s bringing more partners in to address some of the root causes of violence.”

Chicago police said they are looking for “an unidentified male offender who fled the scene on foot” after gunning down Melissa de la Garza. Her grandmother told WLS she had been shot seven times, and alleged that three suspects were spotted fleeing the scene into a nearby alley.

“It is a nightmare,” Clara de la Garza told WLS in Spanish. “Who is going to fill this hole? It’s unbelievable how this city is being consumed by violence.”

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