Mask requirement ends at Oldham County Schools
Oldham County Schools is lifting its mask requirement that was brought back earlier this year due to the surge from the omicron variant.Superintendent Jason Radford sent out a statement to parents about the change to the district’s COVID-19 plan, which had required masks in all buildings for the past few weeks due to the surge.Now, because of improvements in the positivity rate and vaccination numbers, Oldham County Schools is moving to a mask recommendation for staff, students and visitors in all buildings beginning Monday.Still, there are some things to note:Masks are still required on school buses due to the federal mandateMask requirements for up to two weeks at individual schools can be issuedThe board of education can implement the mask mandate again if needed”We also recognize that conditions continue to change as the pandemic progresses. Members of our school community, including students, have now had time to become fully vaccinated, new medical therapies have been developed and become publicly available, and experience has demonstrated that the omicron variant, although highly transmissible, is less severe for most individuals,” Radford said in a statement.In January, the board of education extended the mask requirement due to the ongoing surge from the COVID-19 variant. The school leaders also gave Radford the ability to make decisions about universal masking based on COVID-19 data.Radford said Oldham County has seen a sharp decline in the COVID-19 incident rate and also cited the state’s positivity rate. He said there has also been a downward trend in the five-day average case numbers within schools.The superintendent said he has been in constant communication with the health department about the improvement of COVID-19 in the county.The updated COVID-19 plan will be posted online before students return to class Monday.
Oldham County Schools is lifting its mask requirement that was brought back earlier this year due to the surge from the omicron variant.
Superintendent Jason Radford sent out a statement to parents about the change to the district’s COVID-19 plan, which had required masks in all buildings for the past few weeks due to the surge.
Now, because of improvements in the positivity rate and vaccination numbers, Oldham County Schools is moving to a mask recommendation for staff, students and visitors in all buildings beginning Monday.
Still, there are some things to note:
- Masks are still required on school buses due to the federal mandate
- Mask requirements for up to two weeks at individual schools can be issued
- The board of education can implement the mask mandate again if needed
“We also recognize that conditions continue to change as the pandemic progresses. Members of our school community, including students, have now had time to become fully vaccinated, new medical therapies have been developed and become publicly available, and experience has demonstrated that the omicron variant, although highly transmissible, is less severe for most individuals,” Radford said in a statement.
In January, the board of education extended the mask requirement due to the ongoing surge from the COVID-19 variant. The school leaders also gave Radford the ability to make decisions about universal masking based on COVID-19 data.
Radford said Oldham County has seen a sharp decline in the COVID-19 incident rate and also cited the state’s positivity rate. He said there has also been a downward trend in the five-day average case numbers within schools.
The superintendent said he has been in constant communication with the health department about the improvement of COVID-19 in the county.
The updated COVID-19 plan will be posted online before students return to class Monday.