Will Centre County school districts require masks based on new CDC guidance? Not yet, most say
No public Centre County school districts have announced plans to immediately follow new federal guidelines that recommend the indoor masking of all students, but several implied that could change in the coming days or weeks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday urged all K-12 students, teachers, staff and visitors — even those who are vaccinated — to wear masks while attending school indoors as the delta variant of the coronavirus fuels infection surges nationwide. Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday his administration is not requiring masks in schools, though he urged districts to follow federal guidance.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no public Centre County school plans to require the universal masking of all students at the start of the new school year. Some districts pointed to policies that said masking would only be mandated when the government requires — and not just recommends — it; others said this is a constantly changing situation where policies could still change with it.
“We always take the recommendations of the CDC, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Education into consideration when making decisions for the district,” Penns Valley community relations director Nate Althouse said. “We will continue to consult with our local health care professionals, including an epidemiologist with the Department of Health and our school doctor and nurses. Once we have a chance to review the new recommendations, we will reevaluate our options, but as of right now our policy remains that masks will not be mandatory at Penns Valley schools for the start of the school year.”
The Centre Daily Times reached out to every district in the county. All but Bald Eagle Area responded to a request for comment, but the district still made a public Facebook post Wednesday that reiterated masks will not be required during school or school activities.
Masks are also currently optional for all students at Bellefonte, which passed its health and safety plan Tuesday night, and at Philipsburg-Osceola.
“It’s prudent to say that we have to monitor the conditions on the ground, obviously,” P-O Superintendent Gregg Paladina said. “We have to see what’s going on in the community with the variants and things like that but, right now, our recommendations are that masks are optional. ... However, there’s a caveat: If things continue to change and worsen, we could have more stringent things in place.
“But, short of a mask mandate, I don’t anticipate students having to return to school with masks on.”
State College Area currently boasts the most restrictive COVID-19-related regulations for its students, as it’s the only district to require masks for unvaccinated individuals while indoors. According to spokesperson Chris Rosenblum, the district is currently working on updating that fall safety plan in time for a school board meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, though he did not divulge the specifics of the potential update.
“Should we change our masking protocols, we will inform our families as promptly as possible, as we have done with other health and safety plan updates during the pandemic,” Rosenblum added.
The situation in Centre County is not yet considered dire, as the CDC lists the county with “moderate” COVID-19 transmission. In fact, only three of 67 Pennsylvania counties have “high” or “substantial” transmission, compared to hard-hit states such as Florida, where every county boasts high transmission.
Still, local rates are rising. There were 41 county cases last week, more than twice the number (19) the week before. And as Tiffany Cabibbo, Mount Nittany Health’s chief nursing officer and executive vice president of patient services, mentioned last week, the “vast majority” of COVID patients locally are “not fully vaccinated.”
Students could prove to be more vulnerable than before, experts say, given that those younger than 12 cannot yet be vaccinated — and given the rising rate of infections. (Nationally, daily case totals have increased more than five-fold, to more than 57,000, since a low of 11,351 on June 22.)
The delta variant of the coronavirus, which is more transmissible and believed to be more dangerous, accounted for fractions of a single percent of COVID-19 cases in early May. It’s since been called “COVID-19 on steroids.” Now, the CDC estimates it makes up more than 80% of new cases.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday that coronavirus vaccines reduced the risk of symptomatic infection seven-fold and reduced the risk of hospitalization 20-fold.
In Centre County, some 77,493 people have been fully vaccinated so far with another 5,485 partially vaccinated.
The first day of school for the public districts ranges between Aug. 24 and 31.
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 5:57 PM.
