Pennsylvania’s governor announces a mask requirement for schools.

U.S.|Pennsylvania’s politician announces a disguise request for schools.

• Aug. 31, 2021, 5:22 p.m. ET

Pennsylvania’s politician said connected Tuesday his medication was imposing a statewide disguise request successful each schools, becoming the latest politician to clasp a politically charged but federally recommended precaution.

Masks volition beryllium required for teachers, unit and visitors successful nationalist and backstage schools, aboriginal learning programs and kid attraction centers successful Pennsylvania opening Sept. 7. The mandate was imposed by bid of the state’s acting caput of health, Alison Beam, who appeared astatine a quality league with Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat.

“Wearing a disguise successful schoolhouse is indispensable to support our children successful the classroom, and to support Covid out,” Mr. Wolf said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended masking for everyone wrong a school, careless of vaccination status, arsenic a mode to support students harmless for in-person schooling. Extra information measures are particularly important successful schools due to the fact that nary coronavirus vaccine has been federally authorized for children younger than 12, national wellness officials person said.

Republican politicians astir the state contend that imposing disguise requirements infringes connected idiosyncratic liberties, and galore states with Republican governors, notably Florida and Texas, person fought disguise mandates by schoolhouse districts and localities.

Some districts person instituted disguise mandates anyway, starring to ineligible battles. The U.S. Department of Education announced connected Monday that it was opening an investigation into whether bans connected disguise mandates successful 5 states violated civilian rights laws that support disabled students.

States with Democratic governors, including California, New York and Louisiana, person adopted cosmopolitan disguise mandates successful schools, arsenic has the Republican politician successful Massachusetts. Data collected by The New York Times bespeak that Pennsylvania is the 16th state to bid a statewide schoolhouse disguise mandate.

Pennsylvania is faring amended than galore states during the latest question of infections, but the authorities has inactive seen important increases successful reported cases, hospitalizations and deaths, according to data collected by The Times.

Mr. Wolf, a Democratic politician who indispensable enactment with a Republican-controlled legislature, said earlier this summertime that helium thought it was champion for schoolhouse districts to take their ain measures to support students and staff.

But connected Tuesday Mr. Wolf said that the accelerated dispersed of the Delta variant, galore requests from his constituents and a spike successful cases, peculiarly among children, had changed his mind.

That reversal was not acceptable to Pennsylvania Senate’s president pro tempore, Jake Corman, a Republican, who said “it is wholly disingenuous for him to flip-flop present erstwhile helium didn’t similar the choices schoolhouse districts made” successful a connection connected Tuesday.

“Our presumption passim the pandemic has been accordant — we judge successful section control,” Mr. Corman added. “School districts are champion suited to marque the decisions regarding the wellness and information of students, and they should beryllium empowered to marque those choices.”

Mr. Wolf said that protecting radical successful schools was much important.

“We request to enactment authorities aside,” Mr. Wolf said. “We request to get backmost to what matters: Keeping students safe, and keeping students successful the classroom.”