Covid is officially over.

On Friday, NY Mayor Eric Adams said that come Monday, hundreds of thousands of public school students in the nation's largest district and their educators can ditch face masks indoors as he announced the looming end of one of the most profoundly hated longstanding mandates of the COVID pandemic, one which Congress also strategically dropped the day before Biden's SOTU address in response to dismal internal polling. Face masks will still be required for students younger than the vaccine-eligible age of 5, though, the Democrat announced, which affects some pre-K classes, all 3-K classes and many daycare and kids' programs overseen by the health department.

Also effective next week: businesses throughout NYC's five boroughs won't have to check vaccine cards at the door either starting next week, though they can continue to do so if they choose. The rule mandating employee vaccinations, though, remains in effect. Asked whether he may shift NYC transit mask rules should the CDC opt to change its guidance on that front when it revisits the issue March 18, Mayor Eric Adams said he isn't prepared to do that just yet