Masks can go, but the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is staying in place at schools across the state, the Washington State Department of Health announced on March 9.
DOH released new guidelines for schools as the mask mandate lifts on March 12, and COVID-19 cases subside across the state.
“In-person education and care are valuable to social and emotional health,” Secretary of Health Umair Shah said in a press release. “This new guidance focuses on ways to meet critical state public health requirements while also focusing on keeping kids in school and childcare.”
If a student or staff member tests positive, they will still have to isolate for five days and wear a mask if in public for the following five. Schools are still required to provide timely COVID-19 testing and report positive cases to the local and state health department.
Cases in the Bellingham Public Schools have significantly dropped since their peak in January. From Feb. 28 to March 4, there have been just 15 cases, as opposed to approximately 200 cases between Jan. 17 and 23. Other school districts in the county have seen similar, steep downturns in case counts in stride with county-wide numbers.
Last week, the Bellingham district’s COVID Safety Team sent a letter to the community with “a lesson plan to help students understand the changes.” The plan aims to teach students why some people might wear a mask and why others might not. It also encourages them to “show mutual respect, concern and kindness for one another.”
Western Washington University will continue requiring masks indoors through April 11, two weeks into the spring academic quarter.
“The decision to continue the mask mandate until April 11 will allow us to monitor health impacts of students and employees returning from Spring Break and give the campus community more time to adjust to the new mask protocol as we transition from a pandemic to an endemic situation,” president Sabah Randhawa said in a letter to students.
Students can still receive free testing on campus and are asked to notify the university if they test positive with an at-home or at an off-campus testing facility.
Western has had 26 cases in the week of Feb. 28 to March 6. More than 1,000 students and staff have tested positive since the start of the winter quarter with a majority occurring in January.
