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9/8/2022
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has dropped the face-mask requirement for riders on all forms of public transportation in New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced yesterday.
Riders on New York City's subways, buses, commuter railroads, paratransit services and in stations will no longer be required to wear face masks. Free masks will continue to be available at subway station booths upon request as well as on commuter railroad trains, MTA officials said in a press release.
MTA will roll out a new digital information campaign throughout stations and on subways, commuter trains and buses to encourage people to wear a mask.
In effect since April 2020, the mask requirement is being lifted under the guidance of New York State Department of Health Commissioner Mary Bassett.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic, the MTA has been guided by the health experts," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "With revised guidance from the New York State Department of Health, which was the basis for the mask requirement on public transit, now is the right time for New Yorkers to make personal choices about what works best for them.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, MTA has distributed 56 million free masks to employees and riders.