Face coverings recommended for ages 2 and up

New guidance for schoolchildren recommends face coverings for children 2 and older, and requires those from kindergarten on up to wear face coverings in public and school buildings.

Although Gov. John Carney’s 13th modification to his state-of-emergency order required face coverings for those 12 and older, he said in his latest executive order that recent studies show children 2 and older should be wearing them.

“The evidence could not be more clear that wearing face coverings is the best thing we can all do to keep our communities healthy,” Carney said. “I know masks can be uncomfortable at times for children and adults. But if we stay vigilant and work together, we’ll continue to make real progress against this virus.”

Carney’s 25th modification to his state of emergency issued during the COVID-19 pandemic states all children who are in kindergarten or older must wear face coverings in public settings, including school buildings, and children 2 years of age and older are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings in public. 

Officials said face covering exceptions remain for children younger than 2 due to suffocation risk, and for children who have a medical condition or disability that makes it hard to breathe.

The State of Delaware will not enforce mask use among children, but encourages parents to refer to materials from the Division of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for information on wearing face coverings properly and the benefits of wearing a face covering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Karyl Rattay, DPH director, said organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics are now saying face coverings can be safely and easily worn by the vast majority of children. “Kindergartner and up makes a lot of sense,” she said.

Rattay said new studies show that all age groups are susceptible to infection. 

“The good news is that most infections in the younger age group of 5-10 appear to be mild. And although spread from this age group to others appears low, it still may occur,” she said.

On Aug. 26, Carney also required Delaware schools to notify families if officials become aware of positive cases of COVID-19 in their schools, and the order temporarily suspended observations of teachers under the state accountability system.

Off the quarantine list

Carney said he has spoken with officials in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut who have put Delaware on their traffic quarantine lists and taken it off four times now.

“I’ve had some shouting matches with my friend Gov. Murphy,” Carney said about the New Jersey governor. “They don’t care enough to take the time to even respond to us and tell us what kind of methodology they are using.”

Carney said those states are using Delaware’s cumulative COVID-19 number, which can include data from month-old cases and is not an accurate reflection of current cases.

New guidance from the CDC about the relevancy of quarantine lists also makes those lists a moot point, he said.

“Now for the CDC to say those quarantine lists don’t make sense, we shouldn’t be on the list,” Carney said.

As of Aug. 24, Delaware still remained on Washington, D.C.’s travel restriction list that requires travelers to quarantine for 14 days.