Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul suggested during a tour of a New York City school this week that she would order a statewide school mask mandate once she becomes governor next week.
That didn’t sit well with Greece Board of Education President Sean McCabe. He told the Bob Lonsberry Show on WHAM 1180 Thursday that Hochul was making the wrong call. He said local school districts should make that decision, and Greece had been prepared next week to adopt a flexible masking policy; masks for now while the COVID-19 infection rate is high, with the prospect of taking the masks off when the rate drops as it did in the spring.
During an afternoon news conference, both Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza said the decision on masks should rest with local school districts. Bello said he trusts them to make the right decision.
Bello said the county is nevertheless watching closely the infection rates and how crowded local hospitals become with COVID cases. He says there’s no “trigger number” at which the county would call for people to wear masks again, but he said it remains a possibility.
Meanwhile, Dr. Mendoza said he’s been talking with school athletic program directors around the county, telling them there’s little risk for players on the field during contact sports. He says there’s little or no evidence a football player has ever spread COVID to another player on the field. He says the risks lie in the locker rooms and socializing before and after games, which programs should take into consideration.