New changes to masking recommendations for schools & community at large
COVID case numbers continue to drop as the Omicron variant wave wanes both in the community, across the county, state, and most of the country. With these changes have come changes in masking recommendations over the past few weeks, with the most recent change coming from the CDC on Friday.
On Friday the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its mask recommendations and under their new level system, Manchester and all of Washtenaw County, as well as all of our bordering counties are at the medium level of the three-tier system. At the medium level, the CDC is recommending that indoor masking be optional for healthy people but that residents talk to a health provider and consider masks indoors if they are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe illness or if they live with or have social contact with someone at high risk. At all levels including medium, people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask.
The previous metrics for risk levels looked at case numbers and test positivity rates. The new system shifts the metrics from COVID in general to severe COVID and the strain on the health care system; and while still looking at case numbers, it takes into account COVID-related hospital admissions and the number of beds occupied by COVID patients, while removing test positivity rates as a factor.
Washtenaw County Health Department hasn’t released a statement on the CDC’s new level guidance but did revoke its masking and quarantine/isolation in K-12 schools orders on Feb. 11th to go into effect today. Likewise, although no statewide mandates remained in effect, Gov. Whitmer’s administration on dropped its recommendation that everyone wear masks in many indoor settings, including in schools, on Feb. 16th.
In their most recent weekly newsletter sent out yesterday, Manchester Community Schools reminded families, “Manchester Community Schools will be transitioning to a Mask-Optional school district on Monday February 28, 2022. Some families are eager and excited to remove masks in the school environment. Some families will choose to continue wearing masks. Both decisions will be respected and supported. Masking is just one piece of the layered approach to limiting the spread of COVID in our schools. Other layers of protection include vaccinations, ventilation, spacing/ social distancing, and cohorting. Masking is still strongly recommended by the CDC, MDHHS, and the WCHD.”
In addition to the changes to risk levels and masking recommendations, CDC is no longer requiring that people wear masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems. School transportation was the only remaining situation masks were going to be required in Manchester schools. Because of this change, however, Manchester Schools will not be requiring masks on our school buses effective today. The district stated in their most recent publication, “Our school buses will now address masks in the same manner as our school buildings, still strongly recommending, but not requiring. Our students' choice and option to wear masks or not will be respected as we continue through the 2021-2022 school year.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login