PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Beginning Monday, facial coverings inside Palm Beach County schools will once again be optional.
The School District announced Friday that Superintendent Mike Burke re-evaluated the current facial covering mandate for all employees, vendors, and visitors while they are indoors on District property.
Superintendent Burke consulted with local health officials and reviewed information regarding the omicron variant.
"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," the District said in a statement. "The highly transmissible Omicron variant has also proven to be less severe than the previous Delta variant."
Though facial coverings are optional beginning Monday, January 31, students are strongly encouraged to wear them.