ALBANY COUNTY — Fighting the Delta variant of COVID-19 is the top priority for New York’s new governor.

“None of us want to see a rerun of last year’s horrors with COVID-19. Therefore we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening,” Kathy Hochul said at her first press conference, on Tuesday afternoon.

Since the state of emergency ended in June, former Governor Andrew Cuomo had said it was up to individual municipalities to come up with guidance for COVID-19; few did.

At the same time, even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention labeled New York State as having a high rate of transmission, the state’s health commissioner, Howard Zucker, said it was up to individual school districts to come up with their own rules.

This put local school boards in the hot seat as parents opposed to mask-wearing made their views known.

Hochul took back the state’s leadership role on the issue.

Her first priority, she said on Tuesday, is, “We get children back to school and protect the environment so they can learn, and everyone is safe.”

This means requiring “vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly — at least for now,” said Hochul.

New York is launching a Back to School COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient, she said.

“I am also immediately directing the Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering our schools,” said Hochul.

Later this week, she said, she will announce a series of school-related policies “that will be concise and consistent, giving the school districts what they have been asking for.”

Her second priority, Hochul said, is to increase vaccination rates for New Yorkers.

“Much progress has been made, but too many are not yet vaccinated, putting themselves and their communities at risk,” she said. “With the FDA’s full approval of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday, New Yorkers can expect new vaccine requirements. More on that soon.”

Her third priority, the governor said, is to prepare for booster shots and make sure they are available and are distributed quickly and reliably.

“When I consulted with Dr. Fauci last week, we discussed the urgent need to ensure vaccinated individuals receive a booster dose at eight months,” Hochul said. “I am prepared to do whatever is necessary, including reopening mass vax sites so that a booster is available to all New Yorkers who meet that timetable.”

Hochul’s initiatives were embraced immediately in statements by Albany County’s executive, by the state’s largest teachers’ union, and by Zucker.

“A universal mask requirement for anyone entering our schools will give parents the peace of mind they deserve as they send their mostly unvaccinated children back to classrooms,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy, “and it will help to avoid the confusion of fragmented rules in different school districts.

“Requiring vaccinations for school personnel with the option of testing out will be an added layer of protection, it will ensure in-person learning continues and it will help us reach herd immunity. Albany County is prepared to bolster the state’s testing efforts with the $6.6 million we’ve already been allotted from the federal government.”

“Since early July, COVID-19 cases in New York have risen 10-fold and 95 percent of sequenced positive cases were confirmed to be Delta variant,” said Zucker. “Based on incidence and prevalence, our findings demonstrate the necessity of layered prevention strategies, including this mask requirement. While a simple measure of prevention, requiring masks now is crucial for protecting the health of our children and ensuring we can get our students back in their schools this fall.”

New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta said, “We support universal mask-wearing as part of a layered mitigation strategy that also includes robust COVID testing, contract tracing, proper ventilation, and other strategies recommended by public-health experts. We also support the governor’s move to require regular COVID testing for school staff who are not yet vaccinated.”