Lansing School District votes to keep mask mandate after county order lifted

Mark Johnson, Lansing State Journal
·2 min read
Students outside of Sexton High School, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, prior to the first day of classes.
Students outside of Sexton High School, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021, prior to the first day of classes.

LANSING — Lansing School District voted Thursday to continue enforcing a mask mandate through the end of the school year.

The Board of Education met Thursday to discuss whether the district would keep its mandate after county health officials lifted an order requiring face coverings in schools. They voted unanimously to requires students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside Lansing School District buildings.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail last week lifted an emergency order requiring masks in all county schools, effective Feb. 19. County health officials still recommend masks be worn in schools, but leave the decision up to individual districts.

When health officials lifted the mandate, weekly cases per 100,000 people in Ingham County had fallen by 78% over two weeks and 73% across the region. COVID-related hospitalizations had fallen more than 34%.

But hospital occupancy remains high. Farhan Bhatti, a family physician and member of the Board of Education, said Sparrow Hospital had a bed occupancy of 97% Thursday, while McLaren Greater Lansing had an occupancy of 89%.

While declining case rates are promising, Bhatti supported keeping the mask mandate in place until occupancy rates fall.

"Once hospitalization goes down across the board, that's when we can feel good about progress," he said. "But...as long as our hospital occupancy is as high as it is, then now would not be the appropriate time to let our guard down."

East Lansing Public Schools also decided to continue requiring that students and staff wear masks. Williamston Community Schools and Mason Public Schools decided this week to recommend but not require masking in schools.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer lifted masking guidance for schools across the state Wednesday.

Case counts in Lansing School District have fallen from 192 cases the week of Jan. 9 to 58 cases last week, according to information presented Thursday by Susan Wheeler, a Lansing School District nurse.

District staff joined Bhatti in stressing that the right masks — N95 and KN95 — can lower the odds of contracting the virus if worn correctly. The district is providing those masks to students and staff.

Contact Mark Johnson at (517) 377-1026 or majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing School District votes to keep mask mandate through end of year