California schools require masks for fall semesters — despite CDC directives

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California plans to require masks for all students in the fall despite guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that vaccinated students and teachers do not need to wear them within an appropriate physical distance.

State health officials said the requirement would allow for full-time in-person learning and for all students to be treated the same, whether or not they have been vaccinated.

Not all schools are able to accommodate the three feet of social distancing as recommended by the CDC, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that masks must be worn if social distancing cannot be achieved.

CDC says schools should open in fall, recommends unfamiliar masks

“Concealment is a simple and effective intervention that does not interfere with providing complete personalized instruction,” Ghaly said, according to FOX 11 in Los Angeles. “At the start of the new year, students should be able to go to school without worrying about whether they will feel different or alone by being vaccinated or not – treating all children the same will support a calm and supportive school environment.”

Treating all children equally will support a calm and supportive school environment.

Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Minister of Health

Kindergarten students participate in a classroom activity on the first day of personalized learning at Morris Sendak Elementary School in Los Angeles, April 13, 2021 (Associated Press)

Children under the age of 12 are now eligible to receive the vaccine and may be younger children by the end of the year.

The CDC advised schools not to require vaccines for eligible teachers and children, according to FOX 11.

“It would be a very strange dynamic, socially, for some children to wear masks and some not to,” Elizabeth Stewart, a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University, said, according to the station. “And keep track of that? Teachers shouldn’t need to keep track of which kids should be wearing masks.”

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“We applaud the CDC’s commitment to ensuring that schools are fully and safely open for in-person education,” Ghaly added, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Given California’s science-based approach and the fact that the state’s school facilities cannot accommodate physical distancing, we will align with the CDC by implementing multiple layers of mitigation strategies, including continuous concealment and robust testing capacity.

FOX 11 reported that schools were shown to have fewer transmission centers than other sites.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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