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Health chief wants masks in some Fayette schools. Some parents want ‘no limits.’

Lexington-Fayette Public Health Commissioner Kraig Humbaugh on Monday recommended universal mask wearing for staff and students in schools where kids under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccinations.

“We are seeing .. an increase in cases in the community,” said Humbaugh.

The recommendation came as several people argued against mask wearing at schools at a packed, emotionally charged Fayette County Public Schools board meeting. It was also just after Gov. Andy Beshear at a news conference recommended mask wearing for students and staff at Kentucky schools this fall.

New superintendent Demetrus Liggins on his first day on the job said he is meeting Tuesday with a district COVID core team that will revise guidelines for the district and announce them soon. Still undecided is whether students will be required to wear masks and whether quarantined students will receive instruction or be counted absent.

Humbaugh said the number of cases in Lexington had increased substantially over the last few weeks. Just a month ago, the health department was reporting less than 10 cases per day. On Monday, the rolling 7-day case average was 56 and rising. The number of cases is similar to what the city saw in late February and early March.

He cited the much more contagious Delta variant, spread of the virus among unvaccinated people, relaxed restrictions and people traveling on vacations.

More school age children, some who aren’t eligible for vaccinations, are getting COVID, accounting for more than 20 percent of the county’s cases this month, Humbaugh said. In Lexington, more than three-fourths of adults have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine and two-thirds have been fully vaccinated, only one-quarter of 12- to 17-year-olds have been vaccinated.

On Tuesday afternoon, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended “universal masking for teachers, staff, students and visitors in schools, regardless of vaccination status and community transmission of the virus”, the New York Times reported. Agency officials said with the precautions, schools should return to in-person learning in the fall, the newspaper reported.

Earlier on Tuesday, Lexington health department spokesman Kevin Hall said consistent with CDC guidance, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department continues to recommend that face coverings be worn in elementary and middle schools, since they have large numbers of children who are not eligible for vaccination against COVID-19.

Per federal and state mandates, masks continue to be required on public transportation, including school buses., he said.

“We continue to watch for updated CDC guidance for high schools and encourage everyone ages 12 and older to get the vaccine,” Hall said.

Seventeen people signed up to speak at the district’s first in-person meeting since Feb. 2020. Most spoke against mask wearing and other restrictions in public schools.

“I’m asking you to remove all barriers to education for this school year. No masks, no partitions, no limits on physical interaction, no limits on use of physical learning tools,“ Matthew Vied, parent of a first grader, told board members.

The school board room at the district’s new Central Office at 450 Park Place was full of parents and citizens and about ten people sat in an overflow room.

One of them was Lee Goss, representing the group Make Americans Free Again Kentucky.

“I firmly believe in letting our kids free,” said Goss. He said he wanted to support parents who felt the same.

Other people spoke in favor of precautions.

“It’s not a personal choice or a matter of liberty. It’s a matter of public health,” said Chuck Eddy, who in the 2020 Republican primary lost for election in the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District.

Fayette County Education Association President Jessica Hiler said it was important “to follow the science and guidance from our health officials.”