By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam announced a new order requiring universal face coverings in all K-12 school buildings and child care providers at an Aug. 31 news conference which also included the Departments of Education and Human Services, and Gov. Tom Wolf.

The order applies to all public K-12 schools, brick and mortar or cyber charter schools, private or parochial schools, career and technical centers, intermediate units, early learning programs and child care providers for children age 2 or older.

It does not apply to school sports or outdoor activities.

Northwestern Lehigh School District Superintendent Jennifer Holman posted the following on the district Web page to inform families of the policy change:

“ ... Today at 2 p.m. we learned of the Order of the Acting Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health directing face coverings in school entities.

“This order goes into effect on Sept. 7. We will provide an update to our school board at tomorrow night’s workshop meeting. We will communicate to everyone regarding changes to our Health and Safety Plan by the end of the week.”

Under the order each teacher, child, student, staff member or visitor working, attending or visiting a school must wear a face covering indoors regardless of vaccination status.

Eight exceptions are outlined in the order, which is available on the Department of Health website:

•If wearing a face covering while working would create an unsafe condition to operate equipment or execute a task;

•If wearing a face covering would either cause a medical condition or exacerbate an existing one;

•When necessary to confirm an individual’s identity;

•When working along and isolated from interaction with other people, with little or no expectation of in person interaction;

•If communicating or seeking to communicate with someone who is hearing-impaired or has another disability where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication;

•When the individual is under 2 years of age;

•When an individual is engaged in an activity that cannot be performed while wearing a mask, such as eating and drinking, or participating in high intensity aerobic or anaerobic activities; and

•When a child or student is participating in a sports practice activity/event.

“The reality that we are living in now is extremely different than it was just one month ago,” Beam said, noting Pennsylvania and the country are seeing a steep increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

She reported that in Pennsylvania there were less than 300 new COVID cases per day in July, but now there are more than 3,000 per day.

Beam also said hospitalizations are up, with 1,850 COVID patients in hospitals that day compared to 245 in mid-July, and deaths have also increased.

She said while these numbers are alarming, what was most concerning to her is that the number of cases among Pennsylvania children ages 0-17 rose 277 percent between mid-July and Aug. 28.

“Let that sink in for a second. That’s nearly a 300-percent jump in about six weeks here in Pennsylvania, she said, adding nearly half of those children are not old enough yet to be vaccinated.

She said the main reason for the jump is the more contagious Delta variant, which makes up over 98 percent of cases statewide and is spreading faster than people can get vaccinated, despite a recent boost in the number of immunizations.

“Now, as students are heading back into those classrooms for the new school year, we need to take extra steps to protect them and preserve in-person education, along with Friday night lights and extracurricular activities,” Beam said.

She said there is already evidence that students in mask-optional schools are facing consequences for following the public health recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and according to national media analyses over 90,000 students across 19 states had to quarantine or isolate since the beginning of this school year.

Beam also said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has reported more than 1,400 COVID patients were hospitalized in pediatric units nationwide, and in Pennsylvania more than 5,000 students have already tested positive since schools reopened.

She also said the department has heard from parents of students with disabilities who need in-person education.

“Their kids’ health is in jeopardy by the district ignoring the CDC masking recommendations in school,” Beam said adding there is less need to remove students from classrooms if they are vaccinated and properly wearing a mask.

“We know there will be objections to this action. We’re asking folks to keep it in perspective,” Beam said, noting at this time last year when there was a similar level of community transmission students were learning virtually.

Secretary of Education Noe Ortega commented on the decision.

“It is our duty to do everything possible to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 in our schools, and maximize the opportunities for students to safely learn in person,” Ortega said.

“ ... Classrooms and schools represent more than just a safe and helpful space or place for students to learn; the mask order will also ensure that we can sustain essential services for students.”

Ortega said face-to-face interaction is essential for children’s development, social and emotional support, and that schools may be the only access to health meals for students.

“We cannot let COVID-19 and the highly-transmissible Delta variant take these things away from our children, many of whom are too young to get the COVID-19 vaccine,” he said, adding if children need to quarantine, parents or caregivers might have to take time off to care for them, which impacts jobs and the overall economy.

“The goal of our efforts remains to sustain in-person learning throughout the school year.

“We must do everything to ensure that we don’t disrupt their learning, and we must come together for our children to keep them as safe as possible in school.”

Wolf said the nationwide COVID-19 surge is affecting Pennsylvanians.

“But the virus is reminding us once more that the fastest way to end this pandemic is to get as many people possible vaccinated,” Wolf said. “It’s undermining the hard work of our educators, our teachers and our school staff, and they’re doing all they can despite this to keep students in the classroom.

“ ... We need to put politics aside, we need to get back to what matters. Keeping students safe and keeping students in the classroom, that’s what we need to do.”