ALBANY COUNTY — Starting on Wednesday, students in Albany County were no longer required to wear masks to school.

Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement on Sunday afternoon, following  changes in federal guidance on mask-wearing, announced on Friday, which Hochul said “surprised a lot of people.

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden was maskless as he gave his State of the Union address to members of Congress who mostly didn’t wear masks. In his speech, Biden acknowledged that Americans are “tired, frustrated, and exhausted” by the virus but said, “We’re moving forward safely, back to more normal routines.”

Testing and treatments will be expanded as the nation prepares for new variants, said Biden, calling for an end to the shutdown of schools and businesses. 

An overnight switch was visible between last Thursday and Friday on the maps posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 On Thursday, the CDC map on transmission rates showed most of the nation was colored red or orange, requiring masks to be worn indoors in public. That four-tiered system was based on the number of cases per 100,000 population and on the infection rate, that is, the number of positive tests.

On Friday, under the new system, most of the nation was colored green or yellow, meaning masks were not required. The new system has three rather than four levels — low in green, medium in yellow, and high in orange — “determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area,” the CDC says.

Most counties in the United States are now designated as low or medium, meaning masks aren’t required. Only in counties labeled “high” are people advised to wear masks, according to CDC guidance.

Albany County is designated as medium — no masks required.

On Feb. 24, as the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continued to plummet from the mid-January Omicron peak, both statewide and in Albany County, Hochul announced that all hospitals across the state can now perform elective procedures.

The state had kept a list of hospitals, which Albany Medical Center was initially on, where staffed bed capacity was less than 10 percent, meaning elective procedures couldn’t be performed.

The state is now down to around 2,000 hospitalizations, Hochul reported, a marked decrease from 12,000 a month and a half ago.

“Seventy percent of the population right now lives in an area that’s considered low to medium risk …,” said Hochul at her Sunday afternoon press conference at the capitol. “So given the decline in our rates, our hospitalization, strong vaccination rates and the CDC guidance, my friends the day has come.”

However, Hochul noted that some counties in New York State are designated as “high” by the CDC. “We will allow them the flexibility to determine what’s best for their county,” she said in terms of masking in schools.

“We would encourage them to take a look at this and follow the CDC, but this will no longer be a mandate,” the governor said.

She also said it would be up to parents if they want to have children, perhaps with compromised health, to continue to wear masks. “I want to send a loud message that we will have no tolerance in our school system or anywhere for any harassment or bullying of any child or their parents,” said Hochul.

She said the reason for waiting until Wednesday, March 2, to lift the mandate rather than on Monday, when most students returned to school was because schools needed time to update guidance.

The Guilderland school district had already determined, if the state mandate was lifted, that masks would be “highly recommended” but not required.

On Tuesday, Guilderland Superintendent Marie Wiles sent out an email to district families, saying, “The only circumstance requiring mask wearing is when a student returns after testing positive for COVID-19. According to the GCSD stated protocols, after isolating for five days a student may return to school if they are asymptomatic or if symptoms are resolving; the student will be required to wear a well-fitting mask for days six through ten when at school or on a school bus.

“In addition, a symptomatic student who reports to the nurse’s office may be asked to wear a mask while there.”

Wiles also said, “It is important to note the only change to GCSD’s current COVID-19 protocols is that mask wearing is optional. And given this change, the other mitigation measures in place are more important than ever to fight this pandemic.

“We urge families to remind students to follow healthy hygiene practices, including staying home when feeling sick and practicing proper hand hygiene. In addition, we highly recommend those who are immunocompromised or at high-risk for serious illness continue to wear masks.”

“We welcome this step toward normalcy,” said Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, in a statement responding to Hochul’s announcement. “The governor is striking the right balance by empowering local officials to use data to determine if and when the mitigation strategies need to change in their areas. As the guidance changes, one thing must remain constant: It’s essential that districts work closely with educators to ensure there is confidence in their health and safety plans.”

Making the decision

Hochul, on Aug. 24, her first day as governor, had instituted the school mask mandate, which had lapsed at the end of Andrew Cuomo’s tenure. The health commissioner at the time, Howard Zucker, had left it up to individual school districts to decide on mask requirements.

On Feb. 10, as the Omicron surge declined, Hochul had lifted the mask-or-vax requirement for businesses, which she had instituted two months before, while keeping the school mandate in place. She said she would reevaluate the school mask mandate in early March after students were tested on their return to school from a mid-winter vacation.

“But I’ll tell you, when I look back at what was going on just a short time ago, I am so happy that we did have a mask requirement in place for schools,” said Hochul on Sunday.

“And at the time,” she went on, “we even had a requirement for two short months for businesses to make sure that their customers and patrons and employees were masked or vaccinated as well. That’s how we kept these numbers from getting even worse.”

Pressure had been mounting, not just from Republicans, to lift the school mask mandates as governors in nearby states had already announced plans to lift school mask mandates, including in Massachusetts and Connecticut on Feb. 28, in Rhode Island on March 4, in New Jersey on March 7, and in Delaware on March 31.

Last week, the Siena Research Institute released a statewide poll showing 58 percent of New Yorkers thought the state should wait for early March data before deciding whether to lift the school mask mandate, compared to 30 percent who say the school mask mandate should have ended already, and 10 percent who want to see it end after this week’s school break.

Hochul on Sunday displayed a series of graphs and charts. One showed the peak of COVID cases, as a seven-day average, at 90,132 on Jan. 7 and, as of Feb. 26, at 1,671, at pre-surge levels.

Another graph, with a similarly steep increase and decrease, showed hospitalizations from COVID-19 peaking on Jan. 11 at 12, 671 — and now at 1,911, again at pre-surge levels.

“This was my nightmare, when we were starting to see hospitals overcrowded again, evoking those horrific images we saw in the early months of the pandemic two years ago, when the hospitals were overflowing …,” said Hochul.

Still another chart showed the increasing vaccination progress since May 2021 for various age groups.

“All those vaccinations have made a true difference in our ability to get back to normal …,” said Hochul. “Over 95 percent plus New Yorkers have had at least one dose, 85.5 percent have had their series complete over age 18.”

A graph of school-aged children, ages 5 to 18, showed 832 cases at the start of the school year, up from 52 on July 2, soaring to 14,167 on Jan. 10, and then declining rapidly to 229 on Feb. 26.

“We’re at our lowest point in pediatric cases since July of 2021, and that was before the school year started. So this has been our trend over the school year. So as you can all see, looking at the data and the evidence that we follow, that we are in a much, much better place,” said Hochul.

She also said that pediatric hospitalizations numbered eight at the start of the school year, then peaked at 38; there are now seven children hospitalized with COVID statewide.

COVID testing will continue with the return of students to school, Hochul said, noting that 4.8 million test kits were sent to children before the mid-winter break. “We have another 4.8 million being sent this week,” she said.

Hochul also said that the state is developing an “early warning advanced system through wastewater surveillance” to monitor spikes in COVID cases.

“And we’re going to keep an eye on global trends,” she said, warning, “We need to retain the flexibility to make adjustments as needed.”

Masks still required

While the mandate for mask-wearing in schools was lifted on March 2, requirements remain in effect “for the time being,” Hochul said, in state-regulated health-care settings, state-regulated adult-care facilities and nursing homes, in correctional facilities, in homeless shelters, and in domestic violence shelters.

“And as the federal government requires that they continue to be instituted on trains and airports and airplanes, buses, and train stations,” Hochul said.

She said she has called for a review of COVID cases in the facilities where masks are still required. “And within a short time,” she said, “we’ll have an analysis of whether or not, in fact, these are areas that remain vulnerable, or whether or not there’s been a plateauing and then a decline in cases over the similar amount of time.”

Vax less effective in younger kids

New York State health officials collected data, publicized this week, showing that the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for children is less effective in 5- to 11-year-olds than in older kids.

The article, not yet certified by peer review, found that effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the Omicron era, “declined rapidly for children, particularly those 5-11 years.”

“However,” it went on, “vaccination of children 5-11 years was protective against severe disease and is recommended.”

The drop in efficacy may be because the younger children received one-third of the dose given to older kids.

“These results highlight the potential need to study alternative vaccine dosing for children and the continued importance [of] layered protections, including mask wearing, to prevent infection and transmission,” the report concluded.

Heating help

New Yorkers who have used up their regular and first emergency benefits to pay for home heat can now apply for second emergency benefits as $65 million remains to help low- and middle-income New Yorkers.

New Yorkers in households that have exhausted the regular HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program) benefits and face a heating or electric utility shutoff may apply. Households also qualify if they have less than a quarter of a tank of oil, kerosene, or propane or have less than a 10-day supply of other heating fuels.

Applicants must meet HEAP eligibility criteria and income guidelines, which vary by household size. For instance, a family of four may have a maximum gross monthly income of $5,249 or an annual gross income of $62,983. 

“This $65 million in federal emergency home heating aid will ensure that New York families and seniors struggling to pay the bills during the pandemic aren’t left out in the cold,” said Senator Chuck Schumer in a statement, making the announcement.

Demand for heating assistance through HEAP has been high so far this winter. More than 1.4 million regular benefits totaling $212 million have been issued since the program opened in October, with an additional 28,000 emergency benefits totaling $25 million provided since Jan. 3, according to the governor’s office.

Applications for assistance are accepted at local departments of social services in person or by telephone, with funding provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

In Albany County, residents may apply, Monday through Friday, at:

— The Albany County Department of Social Services at 162 Washington Ave. in Albany, NY 12210, by phone at 518-447-7323;

— Cornell Cooperative Extension at Route 9W, Faith Plaza in Ravena, by phone at 518-756-8650; or

— Cornell Cooperative Extension at 230 Green Street, Floor 3, in Albany, by phone at 518-765-3500.

The after-hours emergency contact is the Homeless and Travelers Aid Society by phone at 518-463-2124.

Albany County

This week, Albany County’s 103rd of coping with the coronavirus, one resident — a man in his nineties — died of COVID-19, bringing the county’s death toll from the virus to 528.

The county’s numbers of new cases and of hospitalizations also continued to decline from the Omicron peak. In his Wednesday morning COVID release, McCoy reported 51 new cases of the coronavirus.

The county’s seven-day average of new daily positive cases is now down to 38, twenty fewer than a week ago. Albany County’s most recent seven-day average of cases per 100,000 is at 9.7 and its infection rate is 2.8 percent.

On Wednesday morning, McCoy reported there are now 27 county residents hospitalized with the coronavirus, with four of them in intensive-care units.

As of Tuesday, 81.1 percent of all Albany County residents have received at least a first dose of vaccine, and 73.7 percent are now fully vaccinated. The first-dose vaccination rate for county residents 18 and older is 89.6 percent.

Statewide, 89.0 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose as have 95.0 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older, according to the state vaccine tracker; also, 75.5 percent of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated as are 85.6 percent of New Yorkers 18 and older.