New York City will lift its mask mandate for toddlers next week as its COVID-19 case count continues to decline, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

Children under the age of 5 will no longer be required to wear masks in schools and day care settings starting Monday, June 13, Adams said in a press release.

“Throughout the current wave, schools have remained the safest places for our children and beginning Monday, June 13, we will make masks optional for 2-4 year old children in all early childhood settings,” Adams said in a statement. “We still strongly recommend that New Yorkers of all ages continue to wear masks indoors and we will continue to make masks available for any child or school staff member who wishes to continue wearing them.”

“I’m with New York City parents and New Yorkers can trust this administration to continue to make the proper public health decisions to keep our kids safe,” he added.

Adams’ announcement came shortly after the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, posted a series of tweets in which he said COVID-19 cases had fallen by 26% in the five boroughs since May 23. 

That drop gave the city “confidence that we have passed the peak and we are heading into a safer environment,” Vasan wrote.