'Mindboggling' COVID-19 Restrictions Lifted Don't Include Schools

SEAFORD, NY — It's a victory lap for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, complete with fireworks across the state, as the 70-percent vaccination brought New York all the way back from the worst of COVID-19.

Restrictions were removed in almost all settings where people congregate, including summer camps, but not schools, which Town of Hempstead Councilman Chris Carini finds "mindboggling," as school-aged children can still gather, minus the masks, at movie theaters and malls.

"The next morning they have to put a mask on and go back to pandemic vibe in school," Carini (R-Seaford) told Patch.

Carini joined Town of Hempstead Supervisor Don Clavin and other councilmembers signing a letter that was sent to Cuomo and Dr. Howard Zucker, the state's Commissioner of Health.

The issue of mental health among children was also addressed as reason enough to let them go to school without the masks or any social distancing, plus Nassau County eclipsed the state's vaccination rate threshold with more than 75 percent of the population.

"It just makes no sense as a parent," Carini said.

The councilman is at a loss to understand the governor's rationale for maintaining the mask mandate in schools.

"I don't know where the facts are. It doesn't seem very science-based to me," Carini said.

He said Cuomo should lift the restriction and let the school districts decide what's best for their students.

"We have local school boards for a reason," Carini said. "They are voted in to control our schools, to implement plans for our children."

Messages to Cuomo's office regarding the letter were not returned to Patch. Carini and the other politicians also got no reply.

"It does not surprise me," Carini said.