Education Secretary Miguel Cardona claimed a recent surge in COVID-19 cases this month should not lead to school closures, expressing concern about governmental overreach.

Cardona admitted closing schools during the pandemic had harmed communities across the country and said in-person teachings should "not be sacrificed for ideology." The comment comes as hospitalization rates and deaths from COVID-19 rise to double-digit percentages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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“I worry about government overreach, sending down edicts that will lead to school closures because either folks are afraid to go in or are infected and can’t go,” Cardona told the Associated Press in an interview published Friday, adding that "schools should remain open, period."

During a visit to Kansas earlier this month, the secretary said that when it comes to whether students should wear masks in the classrooms, they should abide by mask mandates that are made on the "local level," according to local news outlet KHQA.

The comment also comes after a couple of schools had to close temporarily at the beginning of the school year due to COVID-19 cases among staff and a staffing shortage.

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Although Cardona does not approve drastic measures such as shutting down schools, the Biden administration is sending out free COVID-19 tests to families that want them, and the Food and Drug Administration has approved an updated round of boosters in response to the surge.

The vaccines are targeted to the omicron XBB.1.5 variant but are expected to provide sufficient protection against other variants circulating in the coming cold and flu season. The CDC recommends the vaccine for anyone over the age of 6 months.