Lansing, Michigan (WLNS) – Waverly Community Schools announced Thursday that they will adhere to their mask requirements despite changes in Michigan Department of Health and Human Services policies.
State Department no longer “recommends” wearing masks indoors, including in schools.
However, MDHHS stated that school districts and organizations should work with local health departments to determine mask policies for school districts, community meetings, and large events.
Waverley said they would still retain a mandate for the mask for a number of reasons:
- Transmission rates in Ethan and Ingham counties are still high risk (although positive numbers are declining)
- Our early childhood special programming students and preschoolers under the age of 5 cannot do vaccinations.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still recommends camouflage.
- We still have positive cases of students and staff at COVID every day.
- Our ongoing mitigation measures have kept transmission low in our schools.
- We must continue to follow the isolation and quarantine guidelines established by the CDC, as these guidelines are governed by the Michigan Administrative Code of 325,175.
“Since March 2020, all decisions concerning our school environment and mitigating the effects of COVID have been erroneous towards security. Ensuring the safety of our students and staff is a top priority, ”said Kelly Blake, head of Waverly community schools.
The school district asked parents to fill out a Google survey about their preference for mask policy.
Waverly also said they would delete any negative or inappropriate comments on Facebook.