NEW YORK — It will now be up to local school districts if its students will have to wear masks when outdoors.
Governor Cuomo said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has told him it does not intend to change its guidance on wearing masks indoors at schools for the next several weeks. Many districts only have two weeks left in the current school year.
However, with the weather getting warmer, Cuomo said he is comfortable leaving it up to local schools on the wearing of masks when children are outside.
School officials in Western New York were confused over the weekend after the New York State Department of Health notified school districts that it will not be adopting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new recommendations, despite saying Friday it planned to adopt the guidance on Monday.
Hamburg School's Superintendent Mike Cornell, who is also President of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association, told 2 On Your Side, "At a time when people have had to deal with uncertainty and confusion for the last 15 months, and now in the waning days of the pandemic, there's an opportunity to provide clarity. Clarity is kindness, and instead what the New York State Health Department did was provide 48 hours of uncertainty."
Cornell added, "We as school superintendents again find ourselves in the position to have to ask our parents, and our families, and our staff have patience while we wait for the state to sort it out."
Pioneer Central Schools have made masks optional for students and staff. In a statement on the district's website, Superintendent Ben Halsey said the decision was based on the latest actions of the New York State Department of Health, and applies to all Pioneer facilities. Wearing a mask will be a matter of personal choice, Mr. Halsey said, adding that all other Covid-19 safety protocols will remain in place. This includes social distancing.
The governor said children ages 12-17 remain the demographic with the lowest vaccination rates in the state.