Kathleen Moore is reporting for the Times Union the Albany school district is recommending that everyone wear masks indoors at school as the result of a COVID-19 surge. “Due to the significant rise in new COVID-19 cases among City School District of Albany employees and students over the past week, the district is strongly encouraging everyone to wear masks inside all buildings,” the district wrote in a letter posted online and sent to parents and guardians on April 28. In the previous seven days, the district said 72 students and staff tested positive for the virus, the most infections in one week ever, the district said. The infection rate also represented a sharp increase over recent weeks. In the first 20 days of April, there were 47 cases. For all of March, there were 48 cases, according to the district. The cases have been evenly split between students and staff. Most of them developed symptoms before returning to school and have not been in school buildings since before spring break, district spokesperson Ron Lesko said. The district is not making masks mandatory “because the state has said they’re optional for all schools in New York state,” Lesko said. Albany County has not required masks, either. On Monday, the county health department issued a public advisory recommending that everyone wear masks indoors because of a surge in cases locally. Other area school district officials expressed surprise at Albany’s recommendation and said they have no plans to follow suit. Read the full story in the Times Union.