On Thursday, Commissioner for the Kentucky Department for Public Health Dr. Steven Stack and Gov. Andy Beshear recommended that teachers, staff and students wear masks when they return to school next month.
Stack said the new recommendations mirror the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance.
“Everyone in the K-12 setting in indoor spaces should wear a mask period,” he said. “If you are in the school setting, in a K-12 setting and you are indoors, you should all wear a mask.”
Stack said the state has made additional recommendations for school settings in communities where the virus is widespread. The guidance recommends cleaning surfaces and social distancing in schools.
Beshear said schools should require masking for everyone no matter their vaccine status. He added it’s the one way to ensure that staff, teachers and students will be safe from the Delta variant.
“I think it's a whole lot more normal to be in person in class wearing a mask than it is to be at home not able to leave staring at a screen,” Beshear said. “It's also gonna hurt our businesses out there that are already talking about challenges to their workforce.”
Beshear said the recommendations have changed because of newly available data about the spread and prevalence of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
If you appreciate access to this important content during this global pandemic, please help us continue to provide public service journalism and information to Central and Eastern Kentucky communities. Please make your contribution to WEKU today.