Charleroi alters policy on masks

By Taylor Brown

tbrown@yourmvi.com

When Charleroi Area School Board directors unanimously approved a reopening plan last month without a mask mandate, they didn’t anticipate a new variant of COVID-19 would impact their community so quickly.

Last month, school board directors approved a reopening plan that would allow students to be in classrooms with their peers and teachers five days each week. Students and staff are not required to wear masks during school, except when they’re using public transportation, including school buses or vans.

As the delta variant has quickly moved across the state, Washington County is once again at a high level of transmission.

Based on recommendations from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the district has decided to take a new approach.

When school starts later this month, students will be required to wear masks as long as the county remains in the highest level of community transmission determined by the CDC.

However, that won’t be the case throughout the school year.

On Tuesday, a plan was approved to re-evaluated masks on a weekly basis.

Mask wearing will be determined week to week based on the level of transmission in Washington County on each Friday before students leave for the weekend.

If Washington County is in a lower or moderate level of transmission, mask wearing will be optional throughout the building.

If the county is experiencing substantial or high levels of transmission, as it is now, masks will be required of students, staff, teachers and visitors in indoors spaces, regardless of vaccination status. Masks will always be required on buses and other public transportation.

The motion was unanimously approved Tuesday.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.