Central Falls public schools are bringing back a mask mandate after the COVID-19 levels have risen.
Starting on Monday, Central Falls students and staff have to wear face coverings.
A message from the superintendent was posted to Facebook over the weekend announcing the mandate.
“Due to the increasing number of COVID cases (according to the CDC), the district has decided that all staff and students must wear masks effective tomorrow, 5/23. Please know this decision is to keep our students and team safe and healthy,” the post said.
Most of Rhode Island is in the red according to the CDC's COVID-19 Community Level status, all but one county is considered high.
Rhode Island is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases.
At the end of the week, the Department of Health reported 887 newly confirmed cases and one death.
COVID-19 cases are going up in most states and health experts are blaming the highly contagious omicron 'sub-variants.'
The White House's COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says he believes the number of cases in the U.S. is being substantially undercounted.
“We’re crossing that 100,000 thresholds, and I’m convinced we are substantially undercounting the number of infections out there because of home tests. We have a lot of infections. It’s continuing to rise, and I expect that that number will continue to rise in the days and weeks ahead,” Dr. Jha said over the weekend to the national media.
District leaders have not said how long the mask mandate will last in Central Falls.