Gov. Andy Beshear doesn’t anticipate a mask mandate will be needed for schools when they reopen for students in the fall.

“I do not think there will be a mask mandate for schools in the fall. I don’t expect it based on what we are seeing with COVID. We will watch everything, but right now I think kids will be back in a very, very normal setting,” Beshear said Monday during his regular coronavirus briefing.

Beshear said he based his prediction on the belief that children younger than 12 years old will have the opportunity to be vaccinated by the time they return to school.

“That does include information where we believe there will be the opportunity for kids younger than 12 to be vaccinated by the time they go back. I’m very much looking forward to a full, normal school year for my kids and for everybody else’s,” Beshear said.

More than 6,300 12- to 15-year-olds in Kentucky have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the initial days since they became eligible for the shots, Beshear said.

Beshear called that “a good start” and said efforts are gearing up to vaccinate that age group, The Associated Press reported.

“We have a whole lot of school systems setting up vaccination clinics,” he told the AP.

The news about the masks drew praise from Warren County Board of Education member Amy Duvall, who does not often see eye-to-eye with Beshear.

“We can agree on this!” she tweeted in response to Beshear’s comments.

The state reported 285 new coronavirus cases and six more virus-related deaths Monday. The statewide rate of positive cases was 2.78%, the AP reported. More than 6,600 Kentuckians have lost their lives to the disease.

Warren County Public Schools previously hosted on-site vaccine clinics at each of its high schools in partnership with Med Center Health, but WCPS Superintendent Rob Clayton said student interest was low at the time.

“We consulted with those families and let them know that we weren’t going to be able to mobilize those resources on-site, but we would work with them to help them get to The Medical Center if they still wanted to follow through with the vaccination,” Clayton said.

For its part, Bowling Green High School has also offered the coronavirus vaccine to students on-site voluntarily and with parental permission.

During his news conference Monday, Beshear urged young people to get the vaccine, pointing out that the virus incidence rate he reported Monday was much higher among Kentucky children and adults 20 to 49.

“This virus is shifting – who is getting infected – because of who is, but I guess more importantly, who is not getting the vaccine,” Beshear said.

– Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @NewsByAaron or visit bgdailynews.com.