Oklahoma's top health official said Thursday that while he recognizes state government has outlawed school mask requirements, he does believe universal masking in schools would be ideal to keep students and staff safe from the growing threat of COVID-19.
"It's not a perfect world and that's not a possibility, so, I want everybody to wear a mask at school," Oklahoma State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lance Frye told Public Radio Tulsa during a virtual press briefing on Thursday when asked if he would ideally want schools to be able to enforce mask requirements.
Public Radio Tulsa asked Frye if he regretted not supporting public school districts' ability to implement mask requirements, a mitigation measure that was made illegal under a state law signed in May by Gov. Kevin Stitt, given how many schools have already had to revert to virtual instruction due to outbreaks and following the news that a 13-year-old Oklahoma City middle schooler had died from the virus.
"So, again, we have always supported wearing masks in schools," Frye said. "I mean, we, we still continue to support all mitigation efforts in schools and will continue to support it. We are not in the -- we don't have the ability to make policy in those schools and there are so many -- these schools are doing so many separate policies themselves. We want parents to send their kids to schools with masks on, follow all mitigation strategies, and, again, everyone needs to get vaccinated that's eligible. We really need them to get that. That's the answer."
Earlier this month, Frye declined to comment on whether he supported guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that all schools should implement mask requirements amid the surge in the delta variant of COVID-19. He also declined to endorse CDC guidance regarding universal masking indoors for the public at-large in areas of high transmission regardless of vaccination status, saying Oklahomans should assess whether or not to wear masks on their own.
Frye noted Thursday that Oklahoma was trending in the "wrong direction" regarding COVID-19, with "continued increases in COVID-19 cases across Oklahoma, especially in schools."
