Angry New York City Parents File Lawsuit to Overturn Mask Mandate for School Children Under 5

A crowd of angry New York City parents and children filled City Hall Park on Monday morning to protest the continued mask mandate for students under the age of five years old. Their protests came on the same day that New York City Mayor Eric Adams finally permitted children over five to shed their masks.

The irate protesters demanded that children under five be given the same freedom as their older counterparts. Young children carried signs with phrases like "This is not a good idea" and "Don't make my sister wear a mask," while one toddler was holding a sign that read: "I already had Covid."

Protesters argued that the mask mandate is unnecessary because of the low risk of infection for children under five. They said that the rule is damaging to young kids' social and emotional development. Alongside the strict vaccine mandate for municipal employees in New York City, the rule making mask-wearing mandatory for under-fives is among the only Covid restrictions Adams did not lift last week.

Mask mandate remains for children under 5 in NYC

Adams grabbed the headlines last Wednesday, March 2, when he confirmed that New York City would remove mandates requiring masks for public school children aged five and above as well as proof of vaccination to enter entertainment venues or dine out.

However, the mask mandate for students under five in New York City remained, as children in that particular age group are not yet eligible to get a Covid vaccine. A group of parents voiced their disapproval with that decision, announcing that they were filing a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday in a bid to overturn the rule, calling the mask mandate "harmful" to children.

Parents file lawsuit to overturn Adams' mask mandate decision

As per the NY Daily News, the parents plan to use the argument in court that the city must first pass a law justifying the need to continue the mask mandate for children under five. A 38-year-old Daniela Jampel spoke at the protest, saying she does not need a study to tell her that masking small children for over two years will harm them. She added that all parents protesting have their children, and they see "the harm masks are doing to their children every day."

Jampel argued that after two years of mask mandates, their children deserve normalcy. She concluded her speech by saying that children aged under five "deserve exactly what every single other person above the age of five in this city and every single other person in this state is getting today."

Attorney Michael Chessa, representing the group of NYC parents, said that the mask mandates are just "anti-science, anti-parent and anti-child, and are against the law." The protesters have some support from the public, with a Change.org petition demanding an end to the rule garnering 4,516 signatures as of Monday morning.