CA Mask Mandate For Schoolchildren Lifted: What To Know

CALIFORNIA — The Golden State will lift its indoor mask mandate for schoolchildren at 11:59 p.m. on March 11, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday morning.

The news comes as the state prepares to lift its indoor mask mandate for unvaccinated residents on March 1 — a major step toward unwinding the state's stringent mask rules.

"California continues to adjust our policies based on the latest data and science, applying what we’ve learned over the past two years to guide our response to the pandemic," Newsom said in a joint statement with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Monday morning.

The new guidance will make face coverings a recommendation rather than a requirement at most indoor places in California, starting Tuesday, and at schools starting at 11:59 p.m. March 11, regardless of vaccination status. In Washington and Oregon, all the requirements will lift at 11:59 p.m. March 11.

Masks will still be required in high-transmission settings such as public transit, emergency shelters, health care settings, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and long-term care facilities. Ultimately, counties and businesses may continue to set their own mask rules.

Moments after the announcement, the California Teachers Association urged school districts to "proceed with caution."

"Simply put, while some students are ready to immediately remove their masks, others remain very afraid," CTA President E. Toby Boyd said in a statement. "We urge local school districts to continue to work with educators and families and to act cautiously while prioritizing the safety of students, educators and their families."

Earlier this month, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's top health official, identified low vaccination rates among children under 11 years old as a key sticking point for keeping the mask mandate for kids around.

On Feb. 14, about 27.8 percent of children under 11 years old in California had been fully vaccinated. On Monday, that percentage rose to 30.2 percent.

After a devastating winter omicron surge, coronavirus cases have plummeted in California. On Monday, the state's testing positive rate was 2.9 percent, down from 8.8 percent on Feb. 8. Hospitalizations have also declined from more than 10,000 at the beginning of the month to around 4,900 on Friday.

Ghaly said the state's priority has been to keep schools open for in-person instruction. The Golden State holds 12 percent of the nation's public school students and has experienced 1 percent of school closures, Ghaly said.

"Schools are not just a place where ... young people get educated. It's where many receive their meals and where many received specialized services," he said. "It's where many depend on important social interactions."

The debate over masks in schools has been polarizing in California, with parents protesting at school board meetings and slates of candidates — pro- and anti-mask — seeking school board seats in an attempt to shape policies.

Earlier this month, California became the first state to formally shift to an endemic approach to the coronavirus with Newsom’s announcement of a plan that emphasizes prevention and quick reaction to outbreaks over mandated masking and business shutdowns.

Newsom has come under growing pressure from Republicans and other critics to ease the school mandate.

The state's announcements come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased federal mask guidance Friday and essentially said the majority of Americans don’t need to wear masks in many indoor public places, including schools.

The new CDC guidance based recommendations for restrictions such as masking on a new set of measures, with less focus on positive test results and more on what’s happening at hospitals. Under the new system, the CDC said that more than 70 percent of Americans live in places where the coronavirus poses a low or medium threat to hospitals and therefore people can stop wearing masks in most indoor places.

The CDC had endorsed universal masking in schools regardless of virus levels in the community since July, but it now recommends masks in schools only in counties at high risk.

Eight Republican-led states, including Florida and Texas, have bans on school mask mandates, though some have been suspended amid legal fights with districts and parents who want to require masks, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on the San Diego Patch