NYC drops mask mandate for most school students

New York City shed major COVID-19 precautions on Monday as masks became optional in city schools. Most of the city's public school students were allowed in class without masks on Monday for the first time since March 2020.

Masks are still required for children under 5, who are not eligible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. New York and other cities are dropping virus rules as the most recent surge in infections fueled by the omicron variant wanes.

More than 4,000 people in New York City died of COVID-19 in January and February, making those two months the deadliest of the pandemic since the spring of 2020.

New infections have plunged, though, in recent weeks. The city is now averaging a little more than 700 new cases per day of the virus, the lowest infection rate since late July.