Update (March 16): A Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on March 11 found that Arkansas school districts with universal mask requirements last fall had a 23 percent lower incidence of COVID-19 among both staff and students than districts without mask requirements.
As the Omicron wave subsides in much of the US, and the world prepares to mark the two-year anniversary of World Health Organization’s declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, schools are grappling with whether children can safely take off their masks. Some states, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, New Mexico, New York, Maryland, and Oregon, have announced that they will lift mandates for students in the coming weeks, leaving masking decisions to individual districts or parents. Others are waiting. On Friday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its masking guidance, recommending masking indoors (including in ...
