Gov. Hochul: NY schools to require masks this fall

New York Governor Kathy Hochul says students returning to school this fall will be required to wear masks for protection against the highly contagious delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Hochul is also laying the legal groundwork to compel staff and others entering school buildings to be vaccinated or take weekly COVID-19 tests. on Tuesday, during a speech at Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Hochul announced the measures.

The measures come as New York and the rest of the country grapple with a rise in coronavirus infections fuelled by the delta variant. Hochul says tough decisions are needed to ensure children are able to safely go to school after a year and half of the disruptive coronavirus shutdown.