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Mitigation strategies, including mask policies, are up to each school district. Kentucky's top education official told superintendents earlier on Monday to not expect a statewide mask requirement for schools - at least not yet.Įducation Commissioner Jason Glass wrote in an email to superintendents that he didn't know of any mandates from Beshear or the Kentucky Department of Education. "Our priority is not to play politics," Beshear said, or to "get involved in some ridiculous so-called culture war." "Your choice is upset the parents or protect the kids," Beshear said. Having kids in class every day should be schools' top priority, he said, and he doesn't foresee districts having a different priority. But a mandate is not off the table, Beshear said later. He believes districts will follow the recommendations, which mirror existing state health guidance for schools, without needing a mandate. More: With 92 new COVID-19 cases in 1 week, Henderson County incidence rate returns to 'red' More: Henderson Schools announce mask policy for upcoming school year "If school districts don't embrace mitigation efforts, we're not going to be in school every day," he said.ĭistricts should require all unvaccinated students to wear a mask, Beshear said, including all students under the age of 12.ĭistricts that want as few interruptions to in-person learning as possible should also consider requiring masks for all students, regardless of vaccination status, Beshear said. The Delta variant spreads so quickly, Beshear said, it could lead to "significant quarantines" in classrooms of unvaccinated kids. Andy Beshear said Monday.Ī set of recommendations for districts comes as the Delta variant is "escalating quickly" in Kentucky, Beshear said, and about half of students are not old enough to be vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 91% of hospitalizations and more than 88% of deaths have come from the unvaccinated as well.Kentucky schools should require unvaccinated students to wear masks in class and consider having everyone mask up, Gov. Since the beginning of March, more than 94% of new coronavirus cases in Kentucky have been unvaccinated people. If cases continue climbing the way they have been, he said a statewide mask mandate is still on the table. “And the answer is the battle is just not won yet, and we can’t quit before it’s over.” “If somebody says, 'I have done everything you’ve asked governor, and I got vaccinated, stayed healthy at home, I wore my mask, I did it all, why should i have to do this now?'" he said. it’s the right thing.”īeshear said masks will help curb the delta variant, even if people are burnt out on wearing one. “At some point, you have to do the right thing by your people and not score political points,” Beshear said. “Number 3, the more people that get COVID, even young, the more likelihood there is that one of them gets hurt.”īeshear already revived the mask requirement for state offices, but Republicans quickly pushed back: Treasurer Allison Ball said her office won’t require masks, and neither will Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and his staff at with Department of Agriculture.īeshear said they won’t face any discipline, but the rate of COVID-19 in Franklin County is simply too high not to wear masks. Number 2, you’re going to forfeit a lot of your sports games, your matches,” he said. “Number 1, you’re going to have a lot of kids in quarantine.

It’s not a mandate, but Beshear said there will be consequences if schools don’t follow suit. Now, he wants districts to require masks for everyone, mirroring what the CDC said Tuesday.

Steven Stack.īeshear already asked schools this week to require unvaccinated students and staff to wear masks and strongly recommended a universal policy.

"We have changed, in the blink of an eye, from a quiet, calm state, to a horribly inflamed state," said Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. On June 28, there were no counties designated as a red zone – on July 28, there were 36. The change in guidance comes as the incidence rate of new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky is 6.5 times where it was a month ago.