Paul Bass file photo
Sonia Clubb and Supt. Iline Tracey hand out test kits and mask at King/Robinson to prepare to return to school amid Omicron wave.
New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) plan to stay masked up despite Gov. Ned Lamont’s decision to eliminate the statewide mask mandate.
Lamont announced a plan Monday that, if approved, will eliminate the statewide requirement to wear mask while in all schools and childcare centers. In lieu of the lifted state requirement, Lamont is recommending it be left up to local leaders to make mask requirement determinations.
Lamont’s plan was developed with the help of Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani and Connecticut State Department of Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. Pending a vote by the state legislature, the plan would become effective in three weeks, on Feb. 28.
“Connecticut is seeing a dramatic decline in cases caused by the Omicron variant, and children over the age of 5 have had the ability to get vaccinated for more than three months now,” Lamont said. “With this in mind, I think we are in a good position to phase out the requirement that masks be worn in all schools statewide and shift the determination on whether to require this to the local level.”
But the city of New Haven continues to have a citywide mask mandate while indoors public places. This requires NHPS to mandate that its students and staff to remain masked up while indoor.
So despite Lamont’s plan, NHPS will remain masked up, according to the schools spokesperson Justin Harmon.
“We are governed by the city’s mandate on masking, which is still in place,” Harmon said. “We also trust the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] guidance on the matter.”
Teachers union President Leslie Blatteau said she finds it “reassuring that New Haven Public Schools will keep the mask mandate in place.”
Lamont’s announcement comes a month after Yale University announced an order recommending its undergraduate students to refrain from attending off-campusbusinesses, restaurants, and bars.
“Public health rules, like mask mandates during a pandemic, exist for the safety of our entire community, particularly people who might be more vulnerable due to pre-existing conditions, health-related issues, or even age, given our youngest students are not yet eligible for the vaccine,” Blatteau said. “The inconsistency of this latest shift could affect the health and wellbeing of Connecticut’s teachers, students, families and school staff.”
Lamont’s plan would leave each municipal body to determine mask mandates based on local cases.
“It is also telling that the governor offered local districts very little flexibility during the Omicron surge in early January, when we needed a remote option, but now appears to embrace local decision making about how schools should operate during the pandemic,” Blatteau said.