Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and Public Health Commissioner Michael Mendoza say New York state needs to adopt the new CDC guidelines for schools.

The CDC announced Friday that they will relax social distancing guidelines from 6 feet to 3 feet for children in schools. 

The two released a joint-statement, saying in part:

"We are pleased to see that scientific inquiry has now shown that students may safely be allowed to sit 3 feet apart in classrooms without physical barriers as long as other COVID-19 mitigation measures, including universal masking, are in place."

Masks will still be mandatory, and the CDC still recommends 6 feet of distance between adults in schools, as well as between adults and children.

The Rochester City School District says it is still waiting to hear from New York state after the CDC’s announcement.

One official says the district is moving closer to normalcy.

"We are moving into a new era of this COVID pandemic where our community is healthier and we're able to move to move to more normalcy in terms of education,” said Marisol Ramos-Lopez.