Many areas, schools and states have newly updated their masking policies as COVID-19 cases continue to drop nationally after the winter surge.

Yet another update on the mask mandate situation comes with news from California and New York, two of the most highly populated states in the country. Local areas of Missouri have also announced changes. Nationally, there is no mask mandate in place, but states and counties have been making decisions on whether or not to lift their mask mandates, or for certain locations.

The state of Missouri still recommends, but does not legally require, masks to be worn in all indoor locations. Local Springfield universities have recently updated their students on their mask policies. Missouri State University, as of February 22nd, will require their students, faculty, and visitors to wear masks, while Drury University, as of February 21st, will not.

The state of California lifted the mask mandate for vaccinated residents gathering indoors. Schools and hospitals still require masks to be worn. Unvaccinated residents are still expected (and required) to wear masks. Enforcing this specific guideline has proven difficult, but commonly, businesses will require all patrons to wear masks when in the store, regardless of vaccination status. Many residents and health officials of Los Angeles still hold that the area is too dense and the disease is far too transmissible for the mask mandate to be lifted just yet.

The state of New York dropped its mandate during the second week of February, based on feedback from the public about wanting to return to normalcy. This is against CDC guidelines, but New York state leaders, like those of other states, have been looking to appease the general public to, in a sense, restore some hope for the future.

The lifting of mandates received mixed reactions from different communities and organizations. Some of the largest pushback has come from parents of students, teachers and students themselves. A California group, Let Them Breathe, has been advocating for the removal of masks within schools, and the “freedom of choice” for the children to choose whether wearing a mask is the best decision for them.

Similar protests to lift school mask mandates have occurred in New York. Parents falsely claim that “no young person can die from COVID,” (forgetting that they can still transmit it to the immunocompromised and others), so it should be a choice by the child. Others reply that, since children cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19, it is of utmost importance for them to wear masks indoors.