School masks returning after COVID surge

Cases are rising rapidly, particularly in children

There are 28 Ohio school districts that switched from optional mask policies to universal required masking since winter break, according to data from the Ohio Department of Education.

Since December, the number of districts requiring all or some of their students to wear masks has increased by 15.5%.

The move back to masks comes after both Ohio’s governor and the heads of Ohio’s children’s hospitals urged schools to resume masking for now. COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly, and particularly in children.

The state reported more Ohio children were diagnosed with COVID-19 in December than in any other month since the start of the pandemic.

“We know that masks work and are effective at slowing the spread of this virus,” Ohio hospital leaders wrote in a late December letter to school districts across the state. “The best way to keep kids in school is to slow the spread of the virus. The best ways to slow the spread of the virus are to get vaccinated and wear a mask.

“Even students who are asymptomatic or who have relatively mild symptoms have the ability to spread the virus to others.”

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center President and CEO Dr. Steve Davis signed off on the letter. A fall study conducted through the hospital showed COVID-19 cases and quarantines were higher in schools with optional masking protocols than those with universal mask mandates.

Nearly 8% drop for in-person learning

Other districts have responded to the surge in COVID-19 cases with more extreme measures: going virtual or closing with the use of calamity days.

School leaders have been adamant

that these closures are due to staff shortages, not necessarily in-school spread of the virus. Dr. Patricia Manning-courtney of Cincinnati Children's Hospital said omicron is so contagious she doesn't think going virtual would do much at all to slow its spread.

“Going virtual in a school setting would not necessarily mitigate spread because I think all of those individuals would just simply spread it somewhere else because it's so infectious,” she said during a Cincinnati Public Schools board of education meeting earlier this week. “I think what worked a couple of years ago with the different variants is just not going to work today.”

The Cincinnati school board decided to go remote until Jan. 24 due to teacher absences. Columbus City Schools teachers are demanding a similar move after 24 schools were closed in one day due to staff shortages, though Superintendent Talisa Dixon said the district is “committed to in-person learning as much as possible.”

As of Thursday, 31 schools in Ohio were fully remote. Since before break, the number of districts offering fully inperson learning has decreased by 7.8%, according to data provided by the Ohio Department of Education.

Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper said Thursday that short-term remote learning periods “can be an effective tool” schools may use so staffing can recover, but said “no one is talking about a lengthy period of remote learning like many districts experienced in 2020.”

“Educators know that students do best when schools are in person and that is why we have consistently fought for the precautions that can reduce COVID outbreaks and keep students, teachers, and staff healthy and in school,” Cropper wrote in a statement to The Enquirer. “That includes safe distancing, mask mandates, and proper ventilation. The lack of uniformity in these safeguards, combined with the Omicron variant and an expected postvacation spike has created severe staffing shortages in many schools and districts.”

Many districts that switched to remote learning since returning from winter break expect to return to in-person learning by the end of the month.