With community spread high, health bureau recommends masks in schools

With community spread high, health bureau recommends masks in schools

By Brittany Sweeney

August 13, 2021

Like much of the country, Lehigh County is now in the “high transmission” rate for COVID-19 spread, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With the new school year just a few weeks away, the Allentown Health Bureau is recommending mask-wearing inside school buildings.

Allentown Health Director Vicky Kistler said wearing masks and social distancing should still be practiced in order to keep students safe while learning in person.

“Many of our children have comorbidities — they have asthma, they may be overweight,” she said. “They’re compromised in their immune systems, so we’re encouraging parents to protect their kids as much as they can by limiting very, very close contact.”

Kistler also said the health bureau is advising parents with children 12 and up to not only get COVID-19 vaccinations. She said they should get caught up on their routine childhood immunizations, too.

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