With the change in mask policies put into place by the state, masks are no longer mandated indoors, as the OCFS has declared them optional for children aged 2-5. The Mid-Island Y JCC, has changed their policies to make mask wearing for everyone, optional. This includes unvaccinated employees. 

As parents of children under the age of two, who are ineligible for a vaccine and unable to wear a mask, this puts our children at a higher risk. The most significant way we can decrease the risk of our children contracting covid is by surrounding them with adults who are properly masked. For this reason, we believe that anyone who enters our children's classrooms, especially unvaccinated staff members, should be masked.

It is a JCC policy that before entering an infant classroom, shoes are removed. This protocol is put into place, to minimize the introduction of germs to the floor on which these children crawl. They cannot protect themselves, so the JCC has set forth a courtesy protocol to protect them. In a similar fashion, we believe that because our children are unable to put on a mask themselves or receive a vaccination, they should be granted similar protections, requiring that the adults who work with them wear masks.