Health department to end school mask mandate on Feb. 17
GAYLORD — The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is ending its school mask requirement for students.
Citing improving conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the department said its order issued last Aug. 27 will be lifted at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 17.
The order from the health department required students, staff and visitors to wear masks in school buildings and came amid concerns about the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant. In the lead-up to the mandate, cases of COVID-19 within the health department’s four-county jurisdiction of Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties had increased 425%, from 102 cases in July to 536 in August.
"Starting on the morning of Feb. 18, Gaylord Community Schools will follow our COVID-19 mitigation plan which states that K-12 masking is optional and K-6 masked classrooms are available for parents that have selected that option," said Gaylord Community Schools Superintendent Brian Pearson.
"Delivering face-to-face instruction is a top priority for Gaylord Community Schools. We are confident that this change from requiring to recommending masking will allow us to keep school open and students in class," added Pearson.
Matthew Saunders, principal of the Vanderbilt School, said "We agree with the health department's decision to lift the mask mandate in schools."
"While we did see a spike in positivity rate at the school recently, our observations are that student-to-student transfer is low and the reported cases are quickly dropping off and returning to normal levels," he said. "When the mandate is lifted we will return to the guidelines in the COVID preparedness plan that our school board implemented last August. Masks will be optional but all other mitigation procedures will stay implemented, such as social distancing and mid-day cleaning."
Due to the changing conditions of the pandemic, the public health response across local, state, and national agencies is shifting its focus from mandates and restrictions to individual personal protection responsibilities, the health department said in a statement.
Dr. Josh Meyerson, medical director for the health department, emphasized that the lifting of the order is not intended to indicate that masking is no longer important.
“Masking indoors and in crowded settings continues to be recommended by major health authorities and schools are urged to maintain masking policies especially when transmission levels remain high,” Meyerson said. “The CDC offers key messages on properly wearing and choosing an appropriate mask. Masking on buses and other forms of public transportation continues to be a federal requirement."
The initial order from the health department, issued late on a Friday afternoon right before classes were set to resume in many districts, was denounced by some parents and prompted demonstrations. In Gaylord, the mask mandate inspired a walkout by some students and a protest near the high school building and the health department offices on Livingston Boulevard.
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Some of the county commissioners in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties who served on the health department's board of health issued a letter shortly after the health department’s ruling requesting it to rescind the mask order. The order has remained a contentious topic across the health department's region throughout the school year.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Health department to end school mask mandate on Feb. 17
