School Districts Around The Country Are Opting For Mask Requirements
Atlanta, Chicago and Boston are the latest cities to announce that students will need to wear masks in schools this fall. That comes as health officials around the country -- and even in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. -- are weighing renewing mask mandates.
AP:
Atlanta Schools To Require Masks For All Students, Staff
Atlanta Public Schools will implement a “universal mask wearing” policy in all of its school buildings when the new school year starts Aug. 5, the district announced Thursday. In a statement, the school system cited the dangers of the Delta variant of the coronavirus and guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. (7/22)
AP:
Chicago Schools Requiring Masks When Schools Reopen In Fall
Chicago Public Schools announced Thursday its students, teachers and staff will be required to wear masks indoors when they return to classrooms in August. In a letter to parents, Chief Executive Officer José Torres said the policy is based on feedback from local, state and federal public health experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Visitors to school buildings will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Masks can be removed while eating or drinking and while students are engaged in outdoor activities, Torres told parents. (7/23)
The Boston Globe:
Janey Says BPS Students Must Wear Masks As Baker Says He Plans No Changes To COVID-19 Policies
In one of the first signs the resurgence of COVID infections is causing concern among officials, Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey on Thursday said all public school students in the city will be required to wear face masks when they return to classes in September. Already this week, officials in Cambridge, Provincetown, and Nantucket urged residents and visitors to wear masks in indoor public spaces as new outbreaks have been reported; Cambridge, for example, said that 42 percent of the 83 confirmed and probable infections in July so far are “breakthrough” cases involving people who are fully vaccinated. (Fox, Platoff and McDonald, 7/22)
AP:
Big Ten Says Schools Will Decide On COVID-19 Protocols
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said the conference will take take a “decentralized” approach to COVID-19 protocols [for athletics] by allowing each school to put in place its own plan. “Our schools are finalizing their proposed policies and procedures for the fall,” Warren said at Big Ten football media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We’ll get that information in early August, we’ll combine it, and then we’ll get together with our chancellors and presidents and other key constituents to make the determination as far as how we handle the fall.” (Russo, 7/23)
In related news about masks and covid restrictions —
AP:
Juneau Imposing COVID-19 Restrictions Amid Rising Cases
Officials in Juneau on Thursday announced restrictions aimed at curbing rising COVID-19 cases in Alaska’s capital city, including limiting capacity at gyms and indoor service at bars to 50%. Under the measures, set to take effect Friday, indoor gatherings will be limited to 50 people with masks required, unless a COVID-19 mitigation plan has been approved by emergency operations leaders or everyone is fully vaccinated, according to the city’s announcement. (7/23)
Anchorage Daily News:
‘This Is Not The Same Virus’: A New Resurgence Of COVID-19 Shutters Cordova Seafood Plant
A COVID-19 outbreak in the Prince William Sound community of Cordova among dozens of seafood workers and community members has shuttered a processing plant and triggered a mask mandate for city workers. The city with just over 2,800 residents is reporting almost 60 active cases, including workers at the Camtu’s Alaska Wild Seafoods plant, temporarily shut down during a lucrative salmon fishing opener this week.
City leaders say Cordova’s example is an unfortunate lesson in the latest chapter of coronavirus, in which an infectious new variant is preying on people who choose not to get vaccinated. (Hollander, 7/22)
Houston Chronicle:
Hidalgo Raises Harris County COVID Threat Level As Delta Variant Rages, Hospitalizations Double
Harris County’s emergency threat level was raised to orange — or “significant” — on Thursday, and County Judge Lina Hidalgo called for resumed mask wearing amid a fourth wave of COVID-19 that has already caused hospitalizations to spike across the region. “It’s not too late,” Hidalgo said. “But if we don’t act now, it will be too late for many people.... We are at the beginning of a potentially very dangerous fourth wave of this pandemic.” The decision to raise the threat level was based on recent increases in cases, and hospitalization and positivity rates. (Downen and Wu, 7/22)
Politico:
Capitol Physician Considers Recommending Masks Again Due To Delta Variant
The Capitol's chief physician is considering reimposing a mask recommendation in the Capitol after two months of mostly face-covering-free business in the House and Senate, according to three sources familiar with the matter. An imminent announcement is not expected, but the Office of the Attending Physician is weighing whether to suggest that people don masks again inside the Capitol complex as the Delta variant surges nationwide. (Caygle, Tully-McManus and Everett, 7/22)
