Kids over the age of 2 will now be required to wear face masks while at day care and day camps, according to new guidance put out by New York state.

This announcement came the same day that fully vaccinated New Yorkers were allowed to ditch their masks while indoors, causing confusion across the board.

Throughout the entire pandemic, toddlers have not been required to wear a mask, but the state said it is now following federal guidance put out earlier this month.

“We tend to follow the federal guidelines,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a press conference on Thursday. “I understand the science, and I understand the data. And that's what drove the federal government to those guidelines. I also understand it is difficult on a number of levels. It's difficult for parents with one child. Can you imagine a child care provider trying to put masks on 3- and 4-year-olds and have them keep them on all day long? So I get it. We're working with the child care providers to see if there's any way we can help."

The state Office of Children and Family Services defended the new policy, saying it is consistent with federal guidance and encouraged as much outdoor programming as possible.

“Child care programs are required to report infection data to the state weekly,” a spokesman said in a statement. “The state’s child care programs continue to report COVID cases in children even as the overall infection rate is going down. State regulators will assist child care providers with complying with the guidance.”

However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized the move.

Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said now that the state has lifted the mask mandate for fully vaccinated New Yorkers, this new policy seems like a step backwards.

“It would be almost impossible to be able to keep the mask on them, so it just seems like a silly rule,” Barclay said. “This is one of the reasons we want to take these emergency powers away from the governor, because we get these arbitrary mandates and directives coming down from the governor that don't seem to make sense.”

Democratic Assemblyman John McDonald, who is also a pharmacist, wants to know more about the rationale behind the policy. He said this policy is not only hard on these kids, it also adds stress to overworked day care providers.

“The compliance is going to be horrific,” McDonald said. “I had three children. They get their hands near their mouth or nose or eyes all day long, and that mask is not staying on come hell or high water, it's just not. So let's be realistic about it and let's help with the day care providers, who are still just trying to get off their knees from what the pandemic has done to them. This is going to put them in a position where they have to be the mask police.”

This policy also went into effect the day it was announced, which was a source of frustration for day care providers, who said it was not enough time to implement these changes.