NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The New York Department of Health has issued a statewide mask mandate for all students, staff and faculty in private and public schools.
"The Department has filed an emergency regulation requiring all students, faculty and staff of all public and private schools [P-12] in New York State to wear masks inside school buildings," a DOH spokesperson said in a statement. "Public and private schools/districts across the State have been notified by the Department."
The emergency mandate comes after Gov. Kathy Hochul called for school personnel to get vaccinated — or get tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis during her first day in office.
Hochul also directed the DOH to issue a mask mandate in all schools.
New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said in a family newsletter Friday that she shared "strong support" for the school-wide mask mandate.
"We are doing all we can to assist schools in a safe and smooth reopening in September," she said.
With the rise of the delta variant, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention said in an August guidance that students should return to full-time in-person learning with "universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status."