New York Mayor Eric Adams has ended school mask mandates and vaccine passport use in New York City.
The policies will expire on Monday.
“We want to see the faces of our children, we want to see their smiles,” Mr Adams said. “We want to see how happy they are. We want to see when they are feeling sad so that we can be there to comfort them.”
Masks will still be required for students younger than five as they are ineligible for the coronavirus vaccine. Parents of all students can still send their children to school with face coverings, and masks will be available at schools for students who request them.
“We are not going to get in the way of your discretion and we want New Yorkers to be smart, flexibility and be able to feel comfortable without any bullying, without any teasing. If you feel comfortable wearing your mask feel free to do so,” he said.
Mr Adams said that coronavirus rates are "low enough that the mandatory program is no longer needed."
"It's time to open our city," he said.
Individual businesses can still require masking or proof of vaccination if they wish.
Mr Adams suggested earlier in the week that the end to the mandates were coming, so long as there were no "unforeseen spikes" in coronavirus cases.
There were no spikes, and as of Friday Mr Adams said the city's seven-day positivity rate was 1.8 per cent. The city also shared a Yale University analysis showing how much death and illness was averted by the city's high vaccination rate.
A billboard in Times Square displayed the data, showing the city had dodged 48,000 deaths, 340,000 hospitalisations and 1.9 million infections.
While masking and vaccine passport requirements will be lifted for businesses, public employees will still have to be vaccinated.
Masking will also continue on public transportation and in nursing homes, corrections facilities, and homeless shelters, as well as in some health care venues.
Mr Adams said that his administration would continue to monitor coronavirus numbers and enact mitigation requirements - like masking - if the case numbers begin to rise again.
“We will make proper public health decisions to keep our city safe. We will pivot if we see a reason to change any policies. We’re going to be unafraid to make those adjustments and changes. COVID changes. It shifts, it modifies. We must be open to do the same,” he said. “And if we see a rise in cases or hospitalizations, we’re going to come back. It’s imperative we know this battle is still on.”
