Page 4 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2021 Mask mandate issued statewide for public schools Ages fi ve and older and staff required to wear masks indoors in school buildings; plan to revisit policy on Oct. 1 and adjust, if 80% are vaccinated, school-by-school As back-to-school schedules unfolded, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a statewide mask mandate for all staff and all students ages fi ve and older when they are inside school buildings. (Courtesy Photo) By Steve Freker T he speculation became a reality on Wednesday afternoon when a statewide mask mandate for most public school students was issued by state Education Commissioner Jeff rey Riley through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The mask mandate is presumably in response to the latest public health data which shows rising positive COVID-19 cases in both Massachusetts and statewide, largely due to the Delta variant. All students in all schools ages fi ve and older, as well as all school personnel, will be required to wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth whenever they are inside a school building. The mandate exempts students who cannot wear a mask due to medical conditions or behavioral needs, and Riley said he will revisit the mandate in the near future if and when it is warranted by public health data. Students will be allowed to remove the mask when outdoors for recess or other activities and that will remain optional for those who do want to use the mask. At this time plans are in place for traditional lunchtime held in school cafeterias. After October 1, the commissioner’s policy allows middle and high schools to lift the mask mandate for vaccinated students and staff only if at least 80% of students and staff in a school building are vaccinated. Unvaccinated students and staff would still be required to wear masks. In Malden, the School Committee voted unanimously at a special meeting held last Thursday to require Malden Public Schools staff and students ages fi ve and older to wear face coverings/masks in schools. At this time, the statewide mask mandate for schools would now supersede the local mandate. A similar move had been considered in all of The Advocate communities, but no other official votes were taken in anticipation of a statewide decision on schools and masks. As stated above, the statewide school mask mandate would be revisited October 1 for an 80 percent vaccination rate on a schoolby-school basis. At this time, about 4.5 million, or 65.4 percent, of Massachusetts’s total population has been fully vaccinated. In the age groups most affected by the school mask mandate, approximately 40 percent of all Massachusetts teens aged 12-15 and just under half of all Mass. residents aged 16-19 have been vaccinated. All three categories, according to state and national fi gures, are higher than the national percentages.
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