Baker urged to require masks in schools

Jul. 29—BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker is under pressure to bring back a mask mandate for public schools in light of federal guidance that recommends face coverings for all K-12 teachers and students, regardless of vaccination status.

In a letter to Baker, more than 200 doctors and medical experts called on the state to implement universal mask requirements for schools this fall based on a recommendation Tuesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Regina LaRocque, an infectious disease physician and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, wrote that the prevalence of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 creates a "potentially dangerous situation" for students, educators and staff.

She also noted that COVID-19 vaccines won't be available for children 12 and under until after the school year begins, and the state needs to "take all available measures to keep children at school in person."

"Young children lack protection from disease, and vaccination rates among adolescents are insufficient to prevent outbreaks in school communities," the letter read. "Transmission of the delta variant in Massachusetts schools will lead to significant educational disruption, with our medically fragile and socially vulnerable children at the greatest risk of harm."

The CDC's guidelines mark a departure from its earlier recommendations. The agency now says even vaccinated people should return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. experiencing surges in COVID-19 infections.

Five Massachusetts counties, including Suffolk County, qualify as areas of "substantial" or "high" transmission, according to the CDC. The others are Barnstable, Dukes Bristol and Nantucket.

The CDC also recommends indoor masks for all K-12 teachers, staff, students and school visitors nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.

Earlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines suggesting that all students and teachers begin the school year wearing face coverings.

"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 that cause COVID-19," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. "This new science is worrisome and unfortunately warrants an update to our recommendations."

On Wednesday, Baker said the state is reviewing the CDC guidance.

He wouldn't say if he plans to bring back a mask mandate.

Baker pointed out that the state has one of the lowest hospitalization rates in the country due to COVID-19, as well as one of the highest vaccination rates.

"Massachusetts is in a very different place than much of the country," Baker told reporters at an event in Gloucester. "And those things will factor into how we make those decisions. This is a big decision."

Baker is likely to face pressure from parents who protested earlier mask mandates.

At the other end is the influential Massachusetts Teachers Association, a union representing more than 100,000 educators, which called on the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt the CDC's recommendations on masking "without delay."

MTA President Merrie Najimy said the CDC's guidance "makes clear that the safest way to implement in-person learning and to keep students, educators and communities healthy and safe is to have all students and staff wear face masks regardless of vaccination status."

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group's newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com