CDC Recommends Mask In All Schools; DeSantis Will Fight Mandate

FLORIDA — In a reversal of its position in May when it relieved vaccinated residents of the need to wear masks in most circumstances, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that everyone wear masks in public indoor spaces including all schools.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the recommendation comes after a sharp rise in cases of people, both vaccinated and non-vaccinated, contracting the delta variant of the coronavirus.

"This is not a decision that the CDC makes lightly. This weighs heavily on me," she said. "Not only are people tired, they're frustrated, they have mental health challenges in this country, we have a lot of continued sickness and death in this country, and our health systems in some places are being overrun for what is preventable. And I know it is not a welcome piece of news that masking is going to be a part of people's lives, even for those who have already been vaccinated."

She said the new delta variant of the coronavirus, which is now the dominant variant in the United States, is showing an uncanny ability to outsmart medical researchers.

"Eight in 10 sequence samples contain the delta variant," Walensky said. "In recent days, I have seen new scientific data from recent outbreak investigations showing that the delta variant behaves uniquely differently from past strains of the virus. ... Some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others. This new science is worrisome and, unfortunately, warrants an update to our recommendations."

She said the health care community agrees with the new CDC recommendation.

"Public health experts, scientific experts, medical experts — when we've shown them this data have universally said that this requires action," she said.

Among them is the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“The pandemic has taken a heartbreaking toll on children, and it’s not just their education that has suffered but their mental, emotional and physical health," said Dr. Sonja O'Leary, chairwoman of the AAP Council on School Health. "Combining layers of protection that include vaccinations, masking and clean hands hygiene will make in-person learning safe and possible for everyone.”

Walensky said masks are especially vital in areas with "substantial" and "high" transmission rates.

Areas with substantial rates have at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people during a seven-day period. An area with a high transmission rate has more than 100 cases in a seven-day period per 100,000 people.

As of Monday, Florida had 407.26 new cases per 100,000 people during a seven-day period. There were 12,775 new cases of coronavirus reported in the state on Monday alone.

CDC data shows the Florida counties with 5,000 or more cases from July 19 to July 25 include Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Duval and Orange counties.

Readers can see the number of cases in their county by visiting the CDC coronavirus tracker.

"With the delta variant, vaccinating more Americans now is more important than ever," Walensky said. "We must take every step we can to stop the delta variant and end this pandemic. ... The big concern is that the next variant that might emerge, just a few mutations potentially away, could potentially evade our vaccines."

While Walensky encourages all children to return to the classroom this fall, she noted vaccinations aren't recommended for children age 11 and under, leaving a number of students unvaccinated. The CDC is, therefore, emphasizing the use of masks for all students.

It's up to school districts whether they want to make it a mandate, however.

Despite Florida now having one of the largest surges in coronavirus cases in the country, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will not mandate the use of masks in public schools.

“We’re not doing that in Florida. We need our kids to breathe,” DeSantis said during a news conference Thursday. “There shouldn’t be any coercive mandates on our schools."

While the CDC doesn't have the authority to mandate the use of masks, the Biden administration does. DeSantis said he will fight any attempt by the federal government to order Floridians to wear masks.

“I think our fear seeing some of those rumblings is that there will be an attempt from the federal level to push for mandatory masking of school children,” DeSantis said during a roundtable discussion Monday. “I know our Legislature feels strongly about it. I know they’re interested in coming in, even in a special session, to be able to provide protections for parents and kids who just want to breathe freely and don’t want to be suffering under these masks during the school year.”

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of Medicine at Stanford University, was among those attending the roundtable discussion. He said masks don't slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“The correlational evidence, I think, is mixed, and there’s literally no randomized evidence whatsoever for these masks in schools,” Bhattacharya said.

At this time, most Florida school districts said they are following the governor's guidance to make masks voluntary, including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Collier, Escambia, Leon, Martin, Indian River, Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Other counties, such as Duval, said they are reviewing the use of masks in light of the CDC's announcement Tuesday.

In the meantime, Florida agriculture commissioner and gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Fried is calling on DeSantis to resume daily reporting of COVID-19 data by the Florida Department of Health.

The DOH stopped reporting daily totals in June when Florida fell below a 5 percent positivity rate.

Now, with some counties reporting as high as an 18 percent positivity rate due to the delta variant, Fried said it's important to see those daily totals.

"If he’s (DeSantis) not going to come in and he’s not going to have a mask mandate for our state, at least give people the tools to make proper decisions,” Fried said.