Anxiety Builds Over Masks In Schools This Fall

Parents and school administrators in Connecticut are waiting on the state to signal whether it will require students who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus to wear masks in classrooms during the coming school year.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released guidelines calling for children who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing masks while indoors. But the state, which last year required masks in schools, has yet to announce whether it will mandate the precaution or simply recommend it, leaving the rules up to local boards of education.

“My instinct is, right now, the CDC’s been pretty clear: if you haven’t been vaccinated, wear a mask,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday. “And the question is, do we do that with guidance?”

Lamont, whose pandemic-related emergency powers were extended by the legislature through Sept. 30, has the ability to set the requirement, at least for the first weeks of the coming school year. The governor has maintained an executive order allowing the Departments of Education and Early Childhood Development to set COVID safety rules for schools and daycare settings. He said he expected to make the call in the next two weeks.

Read more: https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2021/07/19/anxiety-builds-over-masks-in-schools-this-fall/