Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I-Schoharie) is expressing cautious relief on behalf of parents across New York state following an announcement on Sunday that Gov. Hochul’s mask mandate will be ending on Wednesday, March 2.

Tague has opposed the implementation of such mandates at the statewide level since they were adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He introduced legislation (A.8101) that would prohibit state agencies from mandating the masking of healthy, asymptomatic children by state agencies in schools, day cares and other public settings.

“While this announcement is one that should have been made months ago, I am relieved the day has finally come for students and teachers to see each other’s smiles once again,” said Tague. “However, even with this mandate lifted for the moment, I will continue to advocate for the passage of my bill prohibiting the masking of healthy children by state agencies. The only people who should be making personal health decisions for a child are their parents or guardians, and by passing my bill we’ll ensure the governor is never able to mask our kids for months at a time on a whim ever again.”