HOUSTON - The US Texas State Teachers Association (TSTA) on Tuesday asked Governor Greg Abbott to allow for mask requirements when students go back to school this fall.

"With COVID-19 cases increasing again and many people still unvaccinated, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that everyone older than 2 wear a mask when they go back to school," local TV media KHOU 11 quoted TSTA President Ovidia Molina as saying.

"If Gov. Abbott really cares about the health and safety of Texas students, educators and their communities, he will give local school officials and health experts the option of requiring masks in their schools," Molina said.

The group of teachers want the governor to remove his ban on mask mandates, allowing individual districts to decide for themselves if masks should be required when they reopen in the fall.

The numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise across the country partly due to the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus.

In Harris County of Texas, where the country's fourth largest city of Houston is located, COVID-19 threat level was upgraded from yellow to orange, due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Harris County is among other places in the state that saw a spike of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. However, Abbott reiterated that there will not be another mask mandate even as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to climb.