Ryder Dawson shows his dual allegiance to Captain America (face mask) and Batman (bottle and packpack) while waiting for the start of kindergarten at Wycallis Primary School in Dallas Township Thursday.
                                 Mark Guydish | Times Leader

Ryder Dawson shows his dual allegiance to Captain America (face mask) and Batman (bottle and packpack) while waiting for the start of kindergarten at Wycallis Primary School in Dallas Township Thursday.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

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Doubtless the anti-maskers and parental choice people are already mobilizing against Tuesday’s announcement that the state department of Health is using a somewhat obscure authority to require masks for students and staff in all levels from pre-school through 12th grade. That’s their right, of course, but may we humbly suggest a moratorium on this matter, at least for a month or so.

Remember how rough things were last year, with districts trying hybrid learning, remote-only learning, live online learning and asynchronous online learning? Remember how uncertain everything from classes to graduations to sports to proms seemed to be?

Notice that this year there is little talk of all of that. The state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention clearly have decided to work first and foremost at keeping all students in school five days a week. That needs to be the goal; the culture war of masking can be set aside, at least for a while.

The realities:

1) The delta variant of COVID-19 has become by far the dominant version of the virus — 92% of new cases statewide, according to state officials who participated in a virtual media event announcing the mandate.

2) The delta variant is far more contagious than prior versions of the virus, and infecting children at a higher rate. Again, from the media briefing, cases among school-aged children have increased by more than 11,000 in the last month.

3) While Luzerne County is experiencing nothing near the number of cases it suffered during the massive peak this past winter, we have seen a sharp increase over the past 40 days or so. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Times Leader has tracked the 14 day increase per 100,000 residents. On July 31, that rate was 77. On Tuesday, it hit 292. That is close to a 300% jump in one month.

4) There is still no vaccine approved for children under the age of 12, so mitigation is the only protection.

5) Even if you believe face masks are not as effective as some claim, the vast majority of studies show they help. As reported elsewhere in this edition, Dr. Alison Brodginski, director of infectious diseases in Geisinger’s northeast region, noted a large study at Duke University found a high level of protection against transmission in schools that required face masks during a stretch earlier this year. Couple that with the surprising lack of a flu season over the winter, and the proof seems clear that masks do at least some good — probably a lot of good.

Most importantly, as already noted: keep kids in schools full-time. Keep sports in play. Keep extracurricular activities going. Surely the great mask debate can be put on hold in the name of those worthy objectives.

For now, perhaps, the pro-choice side of the mask debate could focus on that. Look for studies that show masks work at least as hard as you look for studies that say they don’t. Give the mandate some time and see if the infection rate subsides before launching more battles for parental choice.

Think of it as a truce, not a surrender. If the rate of infections drops, maybe that proves masks work, or maybe it just gives cause to start pushing again for a mask-optional policy. If the rate of infections doesn’t drop, maybe it’s further evidence for the anti-mask side.

The goal needs to be full in-school opportunities of students, and surely that’s worth putting aside the mask debate for a while.

— Times Leader