PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia will reinstate mandatory masking starting on Monday, according to the superintendent, citing increasing COVID-19 case counts.
The district did not say how long the mandate would stay in place.
“We want to make sure that everyone understands that the best way to handle this is to be flexible, and understanding and know that things can change rather quickly,” said district spokesperson Monica Lewis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Philadelphia County has a “medium” level of COVID-19 community transmission. Transmission levels are rated “high” in all suburban counties, as well as South Jersey, which triggers the CDC’s indoor mask recommendation.
Two school districts in Montgomery County, Cheltenham and Lower Merion, already reimposed masking on Friday. As of Monday, the following school districts plan to have mask mandates in place:
— Abington School District
— Cheltenham Township School District
— Lower Merion School District
— Norristown Area School District
— School District of Philadelphia
Suburban districts
Montgomery County is following CDC guidance and recommending masks when indoors in crowded situations. That has some school districts moving back to mandatory masks, some considering it, and one that may be forced into it.
According to the CDC’s data tracker, Montgomery County has been reporting about 280 cases each day. This is well below the 1,500-a-day peak in January, and hospitalizations are way down. Only about 3% of ICU beds are occupied by a COVID-19 patient, according to CDC data.
However, health officials say case counts are an unreliable indicator because so many people are taking at-home tests, which is why Montgomery County urged school districts to reinstate the mask rule.
On Thursday, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Policy Lab released a memo stating “the focus should remain on hospitalization rates,” not case counts.
Two school districts in Montgomery County, Cheltenham and Lower Merion, already reimposed masking on Friday. Students and staff must wear them while inside Cheltenham and Lower Merion district school buildings and buses. The state gives districts the power to make these decisions on their own.
Lower Merion’s superintendent notified parents Thursday night to make sure they send their kids to school with a mask and to talk about the mandate with them. Cheltenham’s superintendent said they will return to mask optional once transmission levels fall back to the CDC’s medium level of transmission.
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Dr. Richard Lorraine, the director of Montgomery County’s Office of Public Health, notes that the CDC guidance is only guidance, and schools can decide what works best for them.
He says there is a risk-benefit analysis with masking — especially with children, where the protection from masking is weighed against the negative impact masks can have on social and educational development:
“Not every school district is in the same place. And it's great that they have the flexibility to use that guidance and then put it together in their safety plan as they feel is best for their students.”
And, Lorraine notes, the public is getting better at dealing with the virus and preventing severe disease.
“It's incumbent upon us to try to do what we can within reason to decrease the spread, but not to get so concerned about the individual spread, that we lose sight of the fact that, in most cases, this is going to be a recoverable illness,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Bucks County Health Director Dr. David Damsker put out a letter saying the changing safety plans are disruptive, and there is no evidence masking and other steps make a difference in schools.
He says schools should return to normal operations, saying COVID-19 will remain a common communicable disease, and while children should be given the option to wear masks, it should not be required; kids who may have been exposed should not be forced to quarantine; and anyone who is symptom-free without medicine for 24-hours should be free to return to the classroom.
Perkiomen Valley School District in Montgomery County may be forced into a masking mandate, as three students’ families, who claim the district’s move to make masks optional was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, are asking a federal judge to once again require masking.
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Earlier this week, the CDC formally recommended COVID-19 booster shots for kids ages 5 to 11 at five months after their last dose.