Governor Andy Beshear doubled down on his mask recommendation for schools Thursday saying masks should be required for all teachers, staff, and students regardless of vaccination status.
Because of the rise in COVID-19 cases involving the Delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control recommended Tuesday that schools adopt universal mask requirements. Beshear has recommended schools also make masks mandatory but stopped short of issuing a mandate.
In addition, Beshear said he is not considering a statewide mask mandate, but did not rule it out completely.
Because children under the age of 12 are not eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination, the risk of the virus spreading among unmasked kids is higher with masks.
Beshear said the state is already seeing a spread of COVID-19 among kids who attended some summer camps.
click to download audioThe Todd County Health Department has been one of the most transparent agencies in the area in releasing COVID-19 case information. They have reported 10 cases involving minors since July 15 relating to summer camps. All 10 minors have reported minor to mild symptoms with none of them hospitalized.
Beshear also encouraged daycare centers to consider how they want to keep COVID-19 from creeping into their facilities when educators return to work.
click to download audioPublic Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said 95-percent of the new cases of COVID-19 involve unvaccinated people. He said people continue to question why wearing a mask is needed if they have been vaccinated. The answer is a simple one. The viral load of the Delta variant is much higher than the original strain.
click to download audioNearly 2.3 million Kentuckians have been vaccinated which represents 52-percent of the state’s population and still falls short of Beshear’s goal of 2.5 million that he announced in April for fully reopening the state. He has since backed off that plan.
Vaccinations in Kentucky have increased 51-percent in the second half of July compared to the first half, according to the state’s COVID-19 website.
