Biden blasts 'political dispute' over masking students

BIDEN: “I know there are a lot of people out there trying to turn a public safety measure - that is children wearing masks in school so they can be safe - into a political dispute. And that this isn't about politics, it's about keeping our children safe.”

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday weighed in on the growing battle over masking students… as the start of the academic year coincides with a new wave of COVID-19 cases.

With all students under 12 not yet eligible for the vaccine, many schools want to keep students masked to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.

But it’s a divisive issue in places like Tennessee… where this week, over a hundred anti-mask protesters heckled some doctors and nurses after a school board voted to require masks for elementary students.

And several protesters threatened a man who was trying to leave in his car, yelling: “We know who you are. You can leave freely, but we will find you.”

BIDEN: “I saw video and reports from Tennessee… Our health care workers are heroes. They were the heroes when there was no vaccine.”

Biden also praised local officials in states like Florida and Texas who are fighting for mask mandates despite the orders from Republican governors.

BIDEN: “To the mayors, school superintendents, educators, local leaders who are standing up to the governors politicizing mass protection for our kids- thank you. Thank you as well. Thank God that we have heroes like you and I stand with you all. And America should as well."

The number of daily cases across the country has doubled in the last two weeks, according to a Reuters tally, reaching a six-month peak.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday said masks are key to controlling the spread.

WALENSKY: “So the best way to keep our schools safe and we know how to do it is to vaccinate everyone who can be vaccinated, vaccinate family members of children, cannot yet be vaccinated. And then to follow the mitigation strategies in our school guidance, including masking in schools.”

The board of Houston's public schools was expected to add its voice to the debate on Thursday and vote to defy a state ban from Republican Governor Greg Abbott on mask mandates.

The Houston Chronicle reported that a majority of board members have expressed support for masking-up.