DAYTON — After positive COVID-19 test rates increased by 160 percent in children at Dayton Children’s Hospital over the past two weeks, the hospital is now recommending universal masking in schools.
“In-person, full-time learning is the best option for our children,” Deborah Feldman, president and CEO of Dayton Children’s said. “We saw the struggle for kids dealing with remote learning and a lack of interaction with their peers in our behavioral health services. We heard the anxiety and the frustration as parents juggled at-home school and work. We saw the increased gaps for children with disabilities and those from disadvantaged homes.”
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In a statement, the hospital said that wearing a mask in classrooms could keep children in school, even when another student gets sick.
The increase of children contracting COVID-19 has come as the Delta variant continues to surge. Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, said medical professionals and hospitals are seeing children experiencing COVID-19 at a higher intensity than there were a year ago.
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The hospital also recommended that all staff and children 12 and older receive the COVID-19 vaccine.