Mask mandate for Palm Beach County school staff, visitors ends Monday
The mask mandate for employees, vendors and visitors ends Monday. Students were not required to wear masks, because of a state law enacted in the fall.
Sonja Isger
- No mask mandate for teachers, vendors, visitors
- Students were not required to wear masks
- Number of COVID cases is declining
A month-long mask mandate for Palm Beach County school employees, vendors and visitors will end Monday, district officials announced in a note to parents and staff Friday evening.
Superintendent Mike Burke imposed the requirement when school resumed in the first week of January in response to a post-holiday spike in COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant.
But the superintendent vowed the requirement was only a temporary measure that would be lifted when conditions improved. After extending the mandate twice for a week at a time, on Friday Burke, in consultation with local health officials, concluded the time was right.
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"Positivity rates have steadily declined in recent weeks, now falling just below 20%. While that is still considered a high transmission rate, it’s significantly less than what we faced upon our return from the winter break and cases are trending in the right direction," said Friday's note to parents and staff.
"The highly transmissible Omicron variant has also proven to be less severe than the previous Delta variant. Based on this information, Superintendent Burke has made the decision to return to an optional, but strongly encouraged, facial covering status for these groups," the note said.
Other data appear to confirm the omicron wave has crested, with new cases falling last week to a daily average of 1,050, down from 4,165 the week of Dec. 31 through Jan. 1, when the mandate was enacted.
The number of reported cases of students confirmed ill is decreasing this week as well, clocking somewhere above 600 after peaking two weeks ago at 1,195. More than 9,800 students have tested positive for COVID since school began Aug. 10. More than 1,900 school employees also have come down with the illness in that time.
Teachers union president Justin Katz welcomed the end to what he called a senseless policy that required the adults in the classroom to mask up when the students didn't have to.
"As we've stated all along, if it's not universal, then it makes little sense to us scientifically," he said.
The disparity was created when state law was enacted in the fall barring mask mandates for students.
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With the mandate lifted, Katz said he doesn't anticipate a radical change.
"I think most teachers, like most students, will choose to continue to wear them. But I think they appreciate the flexibility. It helps to show your face to people," Katz said.
@sonjaisger
sisger@pbpost.com