BUFFALO, N.Y. — Throughout Monday 2 On Your Side heard from lawmakers, daycare providers, and of course parents who were very concerned for the health and well-being of young children if they were required to wear a mask all day.
Now that the guidelines changed again on late Monday afternoon, WGRZ reached back out as some groups were on the verge of filing lawsuits against Governor Cuomo and the state.
So another apparent twist in this unusual policy shift with masking for children Again late in the afternoon. a joint New York State Health and Office of Children and Family Services annoucnement: "Both agencies understand how difficult it is to require the youngest children to wear masks, and have jointly agreed to revise guidance allowing child care providers to continue the practices and protocols that have been in place since the start of the pandemic by encouraging, not requiring, children aged 2-5 to wear masks, effective immediately."
Now after we asked for clarification from the state on 6 to 11 year olds - remember vaccinations can start at age 12 - we got this reminder from the same state Office of Children and Family Services: "Important Note: Young children/campers (i.e., those that are not yet in kindergarten) do not need to wear face coverings when they are in child care or day camp program facility or area. Older children/campers are encouraged but not required to wear face coverings as feasible.
Daycare operators like Kelly Kronbeck of Imagination Station, who feared state or county inspectors checking to see if two-year-olds were properly masked are now relieved. Kronbeck said "Obviously this is a huge win for us for the five and under - huge."
There was and is plenty of pressure on the Governor and state officials - some from state lawmakers but more from parents - like this Change.org petition with nearly 47 - thousand and climbing signatures.
Val Farbo, who is a parent, organized that petition and told us "I started the petition five days ago - just because I felt it's time for these kids to not wear masks. I started it - we got probably a thousand signatures the first day."
Anna Niedermeier also got involved with the effort. She said "I promised them that we would fight for every single child. And I will not stop until we do that. Again my child isn't affected by the older age group but I think it's so important that these parents get to take back their right to choose what is best for their children."
There was also the threat of lawsuits against the Governor and the state. We don't know where they would stand now with the changed state policy as we're waiting to hear something official from the attorneys involved.