More school districts across the U.S. are mandating that students and staff wear masks as cases of Covid continue to rise.
Schools in Massachusetts and Michigan implemented the mask mandates this week following policies already set in place by school districts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey when students returned from holiday break.
Chelsea Public Schools in Boston announced in a letter that the decision to mandate masks, effective Monday, was due to Suffolk County being designated as “high risk” for Covid transmission as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan said it was instituting a two-week mandate staring Monday, January 9, and ending Friday, January 20.
Chicago Public Schools, meanwhile, announced it was asking students and staff to perform a rapid at-home Covid test before entering classrooms.
Weekly Covid cases have risen from 309,253 for the week of November 30 to 470,699 for the week of January 4, according to CDC data.
