Boston Public Schools may bring back a ‘temporary’ mask mandate after the Christmas break.
The superintendent is looking into the possibility of bringing back a mask mandate because of an increase in Covid hospitalizations.
Cases of flu and RSV have also increased this month.
Masks do not work, but here we are.
CBS Boston reported:
Boston Public Schools are looking into the possibility of bringing back a “temporary masking mandate” when students and teachers return to classes after the holiday break next week.
In a letter to families and staff, Superintendent Mary Skipper said administrators will meet with the Boston Public Health Commission during the break to “discuss any possible changes to our COVID protocols, such as a temporary masking mandate for the first two weeks of school after the break.”
Any decision would come by the end of this week, Skipper said.
“This will ensure that we are using the most up-to-date data when making any decisions,” she wrote.
Boston has experienced the collision of flu, COVID, and RSV cases in recent weeks. Covid hospitalizations increased by 30 percent in the second week of December, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
Despite the increase in respiratory illnesses, Tufts Medical Center Epidemiologist Dr. Shira Doron disagrees with mandatory masking because of high covid immunity and because of the focus on schools instead of other busy indoor settings.
“I think that would be a mistake at this time,” Doron said, “We aren’t talking about limiting gathering sizes and we have people going to Celtics games and Bruins games and people living their lives normally outside of school buildings. I wouldn’t expect just implementing a mask mandate in that one particular setting to have any impact.”