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Raleigh, North Carolina – The statewide mask mandate for North Carolina schools will end next week, but officials said Wednesday they would like the masks to remain in place in elementary and middle schools and for all unvaccinated secondary students and staff.
Gov. Roy Cooper has said he will let the mandate expire on July 30, when the current state of emergency ends. Instead of the mandate, the state Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday released an updated toolkit that schools must follow to limit the spread of the coronavirus as more students return to class across the board. state in the coming weeks.
“We want their school day to be as normal as possible, especially after the disruption of the year they just had,” Cooper said at a press conference.
The updated guidelines recommend that schools continue to require masks indoors from Kindergarten to Grade 8 because most students are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. In addition, masks should be mandatory indoors for all unvaccinated high school students, staff and visitors.
“We want to show that when you get vaccinated you can take your mask off, and we hope that will be an added incentive for our high school students to get vaccinated,” said DHHS secretary Dr Mandy Cohen.
Less than a quarter of students aged 12 to 17 are fully immunized in the state, Cohen said, calling the rate “far too low.”
“This means that 75% of most high schools, if not more, will not be vaccinated at all,” she said. “I have to get vaccinated. [That’s the] No. 1 in absolute prevention, and if not, making sure people wear masks. “
State officials reported on Wednesday that 60% of adults 18 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 56% were fully immunized.
Cooper acknowledged that while the new directive strongly encourages who should wear masks in schools, there is no way to enforce it, and there is no repercussion for districts that decide to drop out altogether. masks inside.
Parents have opposed the statewide mandate for months, and lawmakers even drafted legislation that would prevent it for the 2021-22 school year, leaving the decision to require masks or not. in classrooms at local school boards.
“There’s going to be a big push statewide… to try to make sure that is in place because we know how important it is to make sure these kids are protected and that teachers are protected. “, did he declare. “We all know what to do. We all have to come together and make sure we try to do it.”
The state’s superintendent of public instruction, Catherine Truitt, welcomed the decision, saying she preferred to give more flexibility to local school leaders.
“The decision on mask mandates should be made by those who are most aligned with their student body, and know that superintendents, parents and school boards will act in the best interests of their students,” Truitt said in a statement.
But the North Carolina Association of Educators, the state’s largest teachers’ organization, immediately rejected the administration’s change to masks in schools, noting that the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups have requested that the mask requirements be maintained.
“Faced with the dramatic increase in COVID infections among unvaccinated North Carolinians in recent weeks due to the Delta variant … this seems like a very misplaced decision,” said NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly , in a press release. “Our youngest students are still a few months away from being vaccinated, and they are particularly vulnerable to this more virulent strain of COVID. We continue to encourage all unvaccinated people to get vaccinated and wear masks as far as possible. as much as possible to protect themselves and other pandemics which are still very contagious. “
North Carolina reported 1,434 more coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the highest single-day total in more than two months.
The state topped 1,000 cases in five days last week, and the seven-day average of 1,043 cases per day jumped 60% last week and nearly tripled in two weeks.
Statewide, nearly 700 people are now hospitalized with COVID-19, including about 200 in intensive care. The number of cases linked to the virus in hospitals is up 43% from a week ago, while the number in intensive care units has climbed 79%.
Cohen said officials may have to “review” the requirements for school masks if the coronavirus trends continue in the wrong direction and “we see our school districts failing to protect our children.”
Durham Public Schools will continue to require everyone to mask themselves in class over the next school year, regardless of vaccination status, district spokesman Chip Sudderth said. But the school board will revise its protocols in the event of a pandemic during a working session on August 10, he added.
Millbrook High School principal Dana King said one of her main concerns was how her staff would enforce the rules, noting that it is not clear whether schools can require students to they present vaccination cards.
“I downloaded each student’s vaccination record in their file. I know when they got measles [or] mumps. Why don’t you just put it on it? ”King said.
But without any proof of vaccination, she said, high schools have to depend on students to be honest about whether they should wear a mask or not, and that prospect concerns many teachers.
“Last year four teachers refused to come because they were afraid,” she said. “I think two of the four are going to quit or find a solution, but it’s a real terror to some people – the idea of being with unmasked people.”
Wake County School Board Chairman Keith Sutton agreed enforcement of the rules would be tricky.
“An audit would be helpful. It puts our staff, our schools, our principals in a difficult position if we are just talking by word of mouth,” Sutton said. “Our staff and legal advisers are working on it and will give us further advice, and we will make our decision based on that information and recommendations.”
Alicia Wheatley, a teacher at Leesville Road High School, said she hoped the district would encourage all students to wear masks at school.
“I am concerned about making sure our schools are safe and healthy for all of our students. I would like students to continue to wear masks, ”said Wheatley. “I plan to be there as long as I can, as safely as possible.”
King said she was concerned that having classrooms full of unvaccinated teens could lead to another shutdown and a return to distance learning.
“It’s hard to outrun this thing,” she said.
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