By Matt Barnum, Photo: Eli Imadali/Chalkbeat, Chalkbeat, February 25, 2022
Schools should only mandate masks when COVID cases and hospitalizations are high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Friday, in a shift that means most U.S. schools now have the agency’s OK to go without masks.
The move is the first major change in national guidance on masks in schools since last summer, and follows decisions by many states and districts to lift mask mandates in recent weeks. Still, many schools have continued to require masks for students and staff, and the CDC’s shift could pave the way for further changes.
The rules appear to be an attempt by federal officials to thread the needle between increasing political pressure to return to “normal” and the fact that COVID-19 still represents a threat, particularly in parts of the country where vaccination rates are low.
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