Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the statewide mask mandate would end on March 2; a week later, this was followed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams announcing the lifting of indoor mask and vaccine mandates March 7. After two years of mask mandates, and traversing New York City’s bumpy road of battling the pandemic, the city, and NYC Museum School students, felt ready to take a step towards normality.

This came after a recent surge of the Omicron strain that hit the US in December. Omicron hit its peak in the five boroughs, with 53,803 new cases as of January 3. From late December through mid-January, almost everyone had close contact or knew another person with the virus. Attendance in NYC public schools went down to less than 70% on the Monday coming back from winter break. Now, cases and hospitalizations have dramatically decreased and are continuing to do so with the much lower 1,000 new cases as of April 5.

Even with COVID-19 cases on the decline, mask removal in schools has been tentative. For many students, this lift is a relief. After two years of interacting with just the top half of peers’ faces, the removal of masks provides a new level of intimacy. For most freshmen and sophomores this is the first time ever seeing their classmates’ full face in person. 

Sophomore Mia Kitaeff said, “I think not wearing masks is changing the relationships that students have with each other, and that students have with teachers, because now we can establish more personal relationships knowing what we each look like.”

Mr. Stein, a math teacher at NYC Museum School, expressed feeling more cautious about the lifting of mandates: “I was nervous about coming back to school while the COVID numbers were still high. I feel the mask mandate, the air purifiers, and open windows made it less likely for the disease to be transmitted in my room.” 

Students and teachers seemed to gain a sense of security from the health precautions taken. But this learning environment left much to be desired. For some teachers, lifting the mask mandate can signify a full return to learning and an opportunity to truly get to know their students. “It’s nice to see smiles on students’ faces. It makes me happy,” said Mr. Stein. 

On the other hand, many students are worried about a new world without masks. For some, masks are comforting and give a feeling of safety in these uncertain times. Given it’s only been two years, some are wondering what the long-term effects are and what will happen if we let go of safety precautions against the virus? Letting go of something we have become accustomed to is of course going to come with anxieties and hesitation, especially for a disease as relatively new as COVID-19.

“I think it’s good that the mask mandate was lifted because some people were uncomfortable wearing the mask,” said Freshman Grace Friedman.  “I don’t think it affected Covid that much because it’s been a few weeks and there haven’t been that many cases.”  She added, “I think it is impacting the school community because some people are mad that people take their masks off, and also people are making fun of others’ appearances without a mask.”

Looking towards the future as we round out our third term of the 2021-22 school year, there still seems to be a lingering sense of hesitation with some students to make the switch to no mask. Yet, as cases continue to lower, we all remain hopeful about making a full return to relative normalcy in the near future. 

Ms. Duran, a Spanish teacher at NYC Museum School said, “I feel scared of a potential outbreak of Covid. However, I’m excited for some level of normalcy. So it is bittersweet overall.”