#NY Governor-in-waiting Kathy Hochul wants masks in schools

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who in 12 days is slated to take over for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said Thursday she believes face masks should be required when kids return to school — but promised to take a more “collaborative” approach on COVID-19 precautions.

“Well, this is an opinion right now, because Gov. Cuomo is still in office, and the state only has one governor at the time, but when I become governor, this will be a key issue,” Hochul said on NBC’s “Today” Thursday morning.

“And my view is that people will be women, children, and everyone in a school environment will be masked,” she added.

However, the incoming governor insisted that she will leave coronavirus prevention measures in schools up to the school districts — as her predecessor decided.

“That’s just an opinion right now. I don’t have the authority to make that the policy, and we’re gonna leave it up to the school districts,” she said.

The Empire State’s soon-to-be first female leader, who is due to step into the role on Aug. 24, also vowed she would be more collaborative than Cuomo.

“I would bring a different approach to this,” Hochul said.

“It’s not going to be top-down. It’s going to be much more collaborative, and I will listen to everyone before I make decisive decisions.”

Hochul also promised to be “flexible” — insisting that any significant changes to pandemic safety guidelines would only be implemented if the highly contagious Delta variant “spirals out of control.”

“I’m watching those numbers like a hawk,” she said.

Earlier this month, Cuomo said school districts should enact a vaccination-or-test requirement in areas where the virus, driven by the Delta strain, is spreading at a high rate.

“I believe school districts should say today, teachers, vaccine or test, if you are in a CDC high-risk area,” he said during a press conference at the time. “I think they should say that today, to the teachers, in this current situation.”

The Delta variant accounts for about 73 percent of new COVID-19 infections in New York state, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In New York City, the strain, which first emerged in India in December, accounts for 83 percent of new cases, according to city data.