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EA Board Considers Dropping Face Mask Rule
By Kristen Keleschenyi
The Tube City Almanac
February 28, 2022
Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
East Allegheny School District may soon make a change to its COVID-19 health and safety plan.
The current plan states masks are required to be worn by students, staff and visitors throughout the day in school and on the bus. At the February meeting, Superintendent Alan Johnson said that with the substantial decline in COVID-19 cases it might be time to join other local districts and drop the mask mandate.
“If we are continuing to see the kind of drops in the incident rate that we are seeing presently we are probably going to ask the board to approve a change to the health and safety plan to eliminate the use of masks that we have in place now,” Johnson said.
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention relaxed its mask guidelines. Many parents have taken to social media wondering what the policy would be moving forward for EA students in light of the new guidance.
Counties are now designated at low-, medium- or high-risk depending on hospital admissions, percentage of hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and new COVID-19 cases.
The recommendation is that healthy people in low-risk counties can discontinue use of masks if their county is in a “low-risk” category. Allegheny County is currently in the low-risk category.
Johnson added he wants to be sure this can be done safely and knows not everyone will agree on getting rid of the mask policy. “We will have some debate on it, I’m sure,” he said.
The school board’s next regular meeting is at 7 p.m. March 14.
The board held the February meeting in-person, though the newest school director, George Stephen Yusko Jr., participated by phone. Yusko was appointed on Feb. 7 to fill the Region 5 position vacated in December by Michael Paradine.
Kristen Keleschenyi is a freelance writer in North Versailles Twp. and one of the hosts of the Kristen & Amber Show on Tube City Online Radio at 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 p.m. Mondays and 4 p.m. Thursdays. She may be reached at kbishop25@hotmail.com.
Originally published February 28, 2022.
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