Photo Courtesy of the Office of the Governor
“My No. 1 priority is getting children back to school and protecting the environment so they can learn safely,”
By Forum Staff
Newly minted Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday announced a new plan that she has said will help ensure a safe, productive return to schools this fall in the midst of rising COVID-19 numbers fueled by the Delta variant.
As part of the plan, Hochulsaid she has directed the State Department of Health to institute a universal mask requirement in all schools, public and private, as determined necessary at the discretion of the commissioner. The Department of Health will issue the requirement through regulatory action established by the Public Health and Health Planning Council.
Hochulpledged to also pursue options to mandate vaccines for school employees or require weekly testing in the absence of vaccines, and will continue to work with the DOH, education stakeholders, and the State Legislature on establishing the mandate.
”As governor, my priorities are now the priorities of the people of New York—and right now that means fighting the Delta variant,” Hochuladded. “My Number 1 priority is getting children back to school and protecting the environment so they can learn safely.”
In order to help ensure testing is available to students as they return to school, Hochul administration officials have indicated that the governor is using $335 million in federal funds to launch a new COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program in partnership with local health departments and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services in the Empire State outside of New York City. In addition, NYC has received $225 million directly to initiate a COVID-19 Testing in Schools Program across the five boroughs, for a total of $560 million in federal funding in New York State to support these programs.
Hochul also launched a back-to-school COVID-19 testing program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rite Aid, and BioReference to make testing more widely available for State public school students before the start of the 2021-2022 school year.
In addition to these new testing programs, State officials have noted that more than 4.3 million child-sized clothed face masks, about 10 million adult-sized clothed face masks, and almost 55 million non-surgical face masks have been made available to students and teachers in schools across NY.
“Our highest priority is helping to ensure the health and safety of our students and educators as we work together to combat COVID-19,” said State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, M.D.“Since early July, COVID-19 cases in New York have risen 10-fold and 95 percent of sequenced positive cases were confirmed to be Delta variant. Based on incidence and prevalence, our findings demonstrate the necessity of layered prevention strategies, including this mask requirement. While a simple measure of prevention, requiring masks now is crucial for protecting the health of our children and ensuring we can get our students back in their schools this fall.”
State Commissioner of Education Betty Rosa, Ph.D.,added, “Since the onset of the pandemic, the health and safety of our students, teachers, and school personnel has been our top priority. With the increase in COVID variant cases around the state, Gov.Hochul’s action, taken after consultation with educators, demonstrates her commitment to the health and wellbeing of our students and the importance of keeping our schools open. The State Education Department supports a consistent application of masking requirements in schools, easing the return to school with a common line of defense against the spread of the COVID variant.
