Mass. extends mask mandate for schools

More than 50,000 students and staff tested positive in the past 2 weeks

State education officials have again extended the mask mandate for K-12 schools as the extraordinarily contagious omicron variant spreads like wildfire across the region.

The indoor mask requirement in all K-12 public schools will be in effect through at least the end of February, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced on Monday.

“The mask requirement remains an important measure to keep students, teachers and staff in school safely at this time,” the department said in a statement.

“The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with medical experts and state health officials, will continue to evaluate public health data,” DESE added.

Local school officials will continue to be able to lift the mask requirement if at least 80% of all students and staff in a school building are vaccinated.

This extension of the mask mandate comes as a whopping 51,100 staff and students across Massachusetts tested positive in the past two weeks amid the highly contagious omicron variant.

More than 4% of students across the state tested positive, and nearly 9% of staff tested positive.

Many school districts have been dealing with major staff shortages in the past week following winter break, as thousands of educators call out sick with COVID-19.

In August, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education gave Commissioner Jeffrey Riley the authority to require masks for public school staff and students through at least Oct. 1. That date has since been pushed multiple times as COVID cases keep surging.