SARASOTA -- Mask wearing by K-12 students is entirely up to them and their parents this year. Governor DeSantis has made that clear.
While masks are no longer required, pediatrician Jessie Hoang says they're a good idea. She works with pediatric patients at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
Hoang says positive COVID tests among patients at All Children's increased fifteen-fold between June and July, from 12 to 181.
Hoang insists that masking up can lessen the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 among children, particularly among patients that are asymptomatic.
Dr. Hoang also recommends keeping children home at the first sign of illness.
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