Ossining Back To School: State Mandates Masks

NEW YORK— With school starting Thursday, Ossining schools Superintendent Ray Sanchez New York State Department of Health sent a special letter to parents Saturday about the state's new mandate issued Friday night on face masks.

"This guidance is consistent with the regulations we intend to implement in our schools," he wrote. "I will continue to update you as more information becomes available. Please enjoy the rest of your summer."

The DOH said anyone over the age of 2 who is medically able, must wear a mask or face covering in a public place when not able to maintain social distance, and in settings including schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes and health care settings.

The mandate was issued by emergency regulation, according to news reports.

Businesses must provide, at their expense, face-coverings for their employees required to wear a mask or face-covering, the DOH said.

In addition, the order said, large-scale indoor event venues with more than 5,000 attendees will require patrons to wear face coverings and may deny admittance to any person who fails to comply.

On Tuesday, hours after she was sworn into office as the 57th governor of New York, Kathy Hochul hit the ground running and announced new vaccination and mask mandates for schools statewide.

"Your priorities are my priorities and that means fighting the delta variant," she said. "None of us wants a rerun of last year's horrors."

The goal is to get children back to school in a safe environment and after months of consulting with school officials, teachers and parents, Hochul took a stand on the vaccination controversy.

"We need to require vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly, at least for now," she said. To make that happen, partnerships on all levels of government are necessary, she said.

Hochul said she would direct the state's Department of Health to institute "universal masking for anyone entering our schools."

New York is also launching a back-to-school COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient, she said.

Hochul said she would soon announce new, consistent school-related policies that are in line with what districts have been asking for.

The second priority, she said, is increasing vaccinations for New Yorkers. "Too many are not yet vaccinated, putting themselves and others at risk," she said.

With the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, granting full approval of the Pfizer vaccination Monday, New York can "expect new vaccination requirements soon," she said.

Also, there is a need to ensure booster shots are available quickly and reliably, eight months after the first round of doses, she said. Hochul said she will do whatever necessary, including reopening mass vaccination sites, to ensure New Yorkers have access to booster shots.

The issue of masking children in schools has divided communities, with some outraged parents organizing protests and rallies.

SEE:

• Ossining School Calendar 2021-22: First Day Of School
• Protest Over Masks Shuts Down Clarkstown BOE Meeting