Mask Mandates Return To Some School Districts Amid COVID Uptick

As the BA.5 omicron subvariant fuels a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise in many areas around the country, some school districts are bringing back mask mandates.

Indoor masking rules have been largely abandoned since the earlier days of the pandemic, when vaccines were not yet available. But with high community spread in many counties and the fall semester looming, some administrators are reconsidering their position.

Gwinnett County, Georgia, started requiring all employees to wear masks again last week and is “strongly encouraging” kids and visitors to mask up, too. Covering the state’s largest school district, located outside of Atlanta, the order affects some 120 school buildings. A neighboring district, in Clayton County, similarly announced a mask requirement for employees and visitors.

Also last week, Kentucky’s largest school system, located in Jefferson County, started requiring masks for everyone in school buildings and on buses.