BRONX TIMES REPORTER, A 22 UG. 27-SEPT. 2, 2021 BTR
Hochul issues mask
mandate for schools
Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference the day after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced
his resignation, Aug. 11, 2021. Photo REUTERS/Cindy Schultz
BY ALEJANDRA
O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
At her second public appearance
as New York state governor, Democrat
Kathy Hochul issued a universal maskmandate
on Tuesday, Aug. 24, for anyone
entering school buildings and ordered
all school personnel to get vaccinated
or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing to
knock down increasing cases of the coronavirus’
delta variant.
Hochul was sworn in as New York’s
57th—and fi rst woman—governor at
midnight on Tuesday two weeks after
her predecessor former Gov. Andrew
Cuomo resigned in disgrace in the wake
of a bombshell report fi nding that he sexually
harassed 11 women.
During her second address to New
Yorkers, Hochul promised swift action
against problems facing the state,
mainly, squashing the spread of the
more aggressive delta variant and increasing
vaccination rates among state
residents.
“Priority number one: we get children
back to school and protect the environment
so they can learn and everyone
is safe,” said Hochul, adding that for
months she has been consulting with
parents, teachers, superintendents, and
school board members about the upcoming
return to classrooms. “ We need to
require vaccinations for all school personnel
with the option to test out weekly.
At least for now.”
New York State United Teachers, an
umbrella organization for roughly 900
unions across the state, seems to be on
board with the governor’s school-related
proposals.
“Gov. Kathy Hochul brings a breath
of fresh air to Albany, and she already is
taking decisive action to bolster health
and safety in our schools. We support
universal mask-wearing as part of a
layered mitigation strategy that also
includes robust COVID testing, contract
tracing, proper ventilation and
other strategies recommended by public
health experts,” said NYSUT President
Andy Pallotta. “We also support the governor’s
move to require regular COVID
testing for school staff who are not yet
vaccinated. It’s critical that educators
continue to have a voice in the implementation
of vaccine requirements and
other COVID policies at the local level.”
In addition, Hochul revealed that her
administration plans on launching a COVID
19 testing program to make testing
for “students and staff widely available
and convenient” as another means of
mitigating the spread of the delta variant.
Details on a statewide testing policy
for school districts will be announced
later this week, Hochul promised. “We
need partnerships with all levels of government
and I’m working now on getting
this done,” Hochul added.
The order comes a day after the
United States Food and Drug Administration
granted the Pfi zer-BioNTech COVID
19 vaccine full approval for use on
people 16 years of age and older which
some offi cials hope will boost confi dence
in the vaccine making it easier for institutions
and employers to issue vaccine
mandates.
The full approval replaces the Pfi zer-
BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine FDA’s previous
emergency use authorization.
On Monday, Aug. 23, New York City
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that all
Department of Education employees including
teachers and principals must get
at least one dose of the vaccine by Sept
27, in order to lower the chances of delta
spreading in schools in the fall. Between
70 and 80% of all New York City public
school teachers and principals have received
at least one dose of a COVID-19
vaccine, according to City offi cials.
The move placed New York City in
the ranks of Chicago and Los Angeles
which have also issued vaccine mandates
for public school staff.
This story appears courtesy of our sister
publication amNewYork.
People with Medicare,
Mark Your Calendars!
Open enrollment is October 15th to December 7th, 2021.
During this period, you can sign up for
or switch your Medicare Prescription Drug Plan
and/or Medicare Advantage Plan.
All changes are effective January 1, 2022.
For more information, call Aging Connect
at 212-244-6469
and ask for “HIICAP” or “SHIP”
This project was supported by a grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living.