Siena College poll: Wait for data before determining mask mandate in schools

Most New Yorkers believe Gov. Kathy Hochul should wait until she can gather more data in March to decide whether to drop the mask mandate for schools, according to a poll released Tuesday.

And a plurality of New Yorkers believe she lifted the mask or proof of vaccination mandate in public indoor places too soon.

The Siena College poll found that far more New Yorkers — 58% — would rather wait to gather March data about the virus before lifting the mask mandate for schoolchildren. Some 30% said the mandate already should have ended, while 10% said it should end when children return to school on Monday, after the winter break.

The poll of 803 registered voters was taken Feb. 14-17, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

On Hochul’s indoor public mask or vaccine mandate, 45% said the mandate should still be in place. That compares with 31% who said it should have ended earlier than it did and 20% who said it ended at the right time, on Feb. 10.

The findings suggest that most New Yorkers favor a conservative approach to the pandemic and are following the science, as opposed to a vocal minority that is opposing the mandates, medical experts said.

The poll underscores that "the majority of people are following the masking and the vaccinations and the regulations and the science. I think they are trying to do their best," said Sean Clouston, an associate professor of public health at Stony Brook University.

"But I do think that there is a very vocal minority that make it seem as though there are more people calling into question" the science, he said.

Hochul announced earlier this month that she was extending the school mask mandate and will look at data the week of Feb. 28 when students return the results from at-home COVID-19 test kits.

The governor said she hopes the students will return results the first day back on Monday, and then do it again three days later. She may announce her decision on March 4.

The mandate has been the subject of heated debates, with some parents calling for it to end and others preferring to extend it until COVID-19 levels are lower.

John Huber, a North Massapequa resident, said he thought the school mask mandate already should have been lifted.

He said his children tell him that many students are not wearing the mask correctly in school, and that transmission of the virus is low in schools. Medical experts argue that is partly because students and staff are wearing masks.

Dr. David Battinelli, physician-in-chief at Northwell Health, said the poll results generally mirror the percentages of the population that have gotten vaccinated versus those who have not.

The number favoring waiting for more data before lifting the school mask mandate "isn’t too far off the percentage of all the people that seem to be onboard with" the mandates and getting vaccinated, he said.

Battinelli said he favors waiting for the March data before deciding on masks in schools.

"Why risk it over another month’s worth of data?" he said.

If the community positivity level for COVID-19 is well below 1%, he said, it would make sense to drop the school mask mandate. On Long Island, it is currently about 2%.

Battinelli also said he agrees with those who believe the mandate to wear a mask or show proof of vaccination for indoor public places was lifted too soon.

"I don’t see the point of lifting it at this point until the data is clear, because we are headed in the right direction," he said. "I definitely think she lifted it early, but time will tell."

Clouston also said he agrees with a conservative approach. Waiting for the March data on the school mask mandate "is the safest outcome," he said.

Parents are vocal on both sides of the issue, he said, though the numbers don’t appear equal.

"I think we hear from a lot of parents who are in that 30%" who think the school mask mandate should already have ended, "but it’s a minority," Clouston said.

COVID-19 indicators continued a downward trend in the latest results released Tuesday after hitting record highs in January amid the omicron surge.

Long Island registered 197 new confirmed cases, and a seven-day positivity average of 2.09%. Statewide, 32 people, including one each in Nassau and Suffolk counties, died on Monday of causes linked to COVID-19.

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