Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday that the statewide masking requirement in schools will be lifted by March 2.

In a briefing held in Albany, the Democrat cited declining COVID-19 cases and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

She said counties and cities could keep their own mandates in place, and parents could still choose to send their kids to school in masks.

The new rules effective Wednesday apply to children 2 years and older in childcare facilities. New York State has 2.7 million schoolchildren, including about 1 million in New York City.

Earlier this month, Hochul let a broad mask mandate for most indoor settings expire but said the school’s requirement would remain in place. She had promised to revisit the schools question by the first week of March.

The broad mask mandate was implemented during a COVID-19 surge fueled by the Omicron variant in December.

The decision came as parents showed up in Massapequa for a rally against masks in schools.

After the governor made her announcement, Dana Durso, of Massapequa and others said they're happy to hear the news. She just hopes it stays that way.

“It's way past time. Time has ticked too far,” Durso told News 12. “Us, as parents, are not going to continue to do this anymore.”

Many parents and children said they are not ready for the sudden change.

“I'm more in favor in having masks in terms of my kids – but other parents choose not to have their kids wear masks, so it makes it more difficult,” said Andrew Lentini, of Wantagh.

Gov. Hochul said that if a student wants to continue wearing a mask, they can – and that there will be no tolerance for bullying from children or their parents.