New York state health officials will allow COVID-19 mask mandates in hospitals and other health care facilities to end on Sunday, acting state Health Commissioner James McDonald said.

The requirement for face coverings in these settings was put in place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and applied to all staff, patients and visitors.

It has been one of the final statewide pandemic restrictions enacted at the onset of the pandemic to still be in place. A mask mandate for indoor public places like businesses was dropped a year ago this week after the winter omicron surge subsided. The requirement for masks on public transportation was dropped last September.

It is the latest step of many from the state and local governments in the last few months that signifies a full transition back to normal life from the COVID-19 era.

New York has seen a steady decline in transmission rates of COVID-19 over the past two months, according to health department data.

It has nearly been three years since the the first case was found in New York.