Mask mandate a necessary step in Pa.

It’s about time Gov. Tom Wolf requires masks in schools as the delta variant rages and unvaccinated children return.

It’s about time.

The timorous chief executive of Pennsylvania has decided to step into the fray and do what should have been done weeks ago: mandate masks in K-12 schools and child care centers.

As the delta variant has raged, as parents and school officials have faced off against each other over a health issue turned political, as unvaccinated students prepared for a return to school — a congregate setting with the potential to be a virus incubator — Gov. Tom Wolf summoned only enough courage to recommend masks.

It was ridiculous.

It was a sidestep of a hotbutton issue that he feared would burn him one way or another.

Nonetheless, the only right thing — the only safe thing — was to mandate masks.

Now it has happened, and, for this, we are relieved.

Anyone questioning whether the state’s chief executive is within in his rights should get a grip. Yes, the voters stripped the governor of some of his emergency declaration powers. But, the authority for this mandate emanates from the state Department of Health.

Top priority now is to get commonwealth residents vaccinated. Everybody.

But, that can’t happen yet for young people. Vaccinations are not yet deemed safe for them.

And that’s why it is so blatantly obvious that other precautions must be taken to prevent a school-based pandemic.

Without a mask mandate, it is a near certainty that children will be once again forced into remote learning situations — far from the ideal. Especially if this model of learning can be shelved by simply slipping on a mask.

It is predictable that some lawmakers, playing to their crazy constituents, would condemn the mandate.

But, Mr. Wolf is on the right side of history, albeit as a Johnny-come-lately.

Again, the situation is crystal clear. The ultra-contagious delta variant is going to sicken kids if precautions aren’t taken. Those kids will be in quarantine and out of the classroom. And they could even end up in the hospital, their lives in peril. The mind does not want to stray to the ultimate potential consequence.

As things stand, districts are not allowed to “restrain, use force or physically remove” those who refuse to comply with wearing a mask.

That’s a mistake. Anyone who defies the order should be sent home. Many school districts do this for violations of dress codes. The stakes in this situation are much higher.

Yes, some Republican lawmakers are calling out the governor for his turnabout. They say that if Mr. Wolf had believed he had the authority to mandate masks, he would have mandated them earlier — when he was simply advising their use. This is a specious argument. The governor was simply cowering a week ago, and everyone knows it. Now he’s grown a spine. It should have happened sooner, but we’ll take it when we get it.

Meanwhile, the no-win battles continue. Litigation is sure to follow. It is actually and literally sickening.

This is why Pennsylvania’s leaders need to set aside rancor and pronounce with a unified voice that we must be reasonable and safe.

Shame, shame and more shame on any and every politician who continues to politicize this issue. If ever there were a time when lawmakers should stand shoulderto-shoulder, this is that time. A public health crisis isn’t just on our doorsteps. It has crossed the threshold.

Here are the facts: According to state data released last week, in mid-July there were fewer than 300 new COVID-19 cases a day; that has climbed to more than 3,000. There were 245 in the hospital as of mid-July; that number climbed to 1,850 in the hospital. And the number of deaths has increased, as well. Since schools began to reopen, more than 5,000 students have tested positive.

What more is needed for reason to prevail? Hospitals overflowing with child-patients? A death march of pintsized caskets? A return to remote learning, detrimental to students and parents alike?

The Education Law Center, a group of nearly 50 education advocacy groups, has pleaded for a universal mask mandate. The Pennsylvania State Education Association has supported it. All public health officials have wanted it.

The experts have spoken. The public must listen. The battles must end. Mask up.