Dropbox public folders for new accounts will be phased out. As mentioned in the link, all current users can continue to use it.
From the Dropbox staff response:
"All current users retain their Dropbox Public folder, and it's function continues."
This news was intended for developers who rely on Public for app functionality. The public folder is not going away for existing users.
Yes, current accounts keep the feature the whole point of grandfathering features is to eventually phase them out entirely.