Schools to go mask-optional Monday as COVID-19 cases subside
March 12, 2022 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
The Harwood Union band marked what they hope was their last masked rehearsal on Friday. Band director Chris Rivers (floor) shared this photo with the school community saying it "captures a moment of fun, laughter and gratitude" after many months of lessons and rehearsals in "far less than ideal circumstances." The band performs a concert March 24 both in person and broadcast on Mad River TV. Photo courtesy Chris Rivers
Just as Vermont and the nation mark two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, schools around Vermont are poised to drop many of the mitigation measures that have been in place to curb the spread of the virus.
Starting Monday, all schools in the Harwood Unified Union School District will make mask-wearing optional for students and staff in school, at school events, and on buses. And while schools still have home testing kits to distribute to students and staff, school administrators will end their practice of notifying those who may have been in close contact with an individual who tests positive.
The steps are in keeping with the state’s directive to lift all school-specific COVID-19 guidance as schools transition to follow the same recommendations issued for the general public.
“In HUUSD, we are happy to report that we did not experience a COVID surge after the recent school break; our data for staff and students reflects a positive reduction of cases overall,” Superintendent Brigid Nease said in a memo to the school community on Thursday.
On the school district website, HUUSD.org, the memo details the changes to school protocols that go into effect Monday.
Families are asked to discuss their preferences for students regarding wearing masks at school, Nease said. “School staff cannot be responsible for managing and enforcing students to follow the personal choices made by a family. Families need to be clear with their own children what their masking expectations are,” she writes in the memo.
The moves to relax COVID mitigation measures come as state officials have scaled back on recommendations to the general public in recent days. Mask-wearing is now up to individuals based on one’s own calculation of risk to oneself and others, according to Gov. Phil Scott and state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine.
“The decision to wear a mask will be up to each person based on their own circumstances, personal risk assessment and health needs,” Levine said at this week’s COVID-19 press briefing with the governor. He said individuals should do what they are most comfortable with in indoor public settings for what he called “this transition time.”
Another source on public health guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is still tracking COVID-19 transmission rates nationally by county. In areas deemed “high” transmission, masks indoors in public are still recommended. The latest CDC map shows just Rutland County in Vermont as having a high transmission rate with all others labeled medium.
Masking rules are still stricter in health care settings, which follow federal guidelines.
Community update
Following the trend as COVID-19 cases subside, a number of Vermont communities with requirements for mask-wearing in indoor public places have either ended them or allowed them to expire. VTDigger this week reported that just a few communities in the state still had mask mandates in place as of Thursday. Those towns included Richmond (in effect until April 4), Williston (until March 22), and Waitsfield, where the selectboard is scheduled to discuss the topic on Monday.
Public health guidance still urges those who test positive to isolate from others and those who have come in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19 to test and wear a mask around others for 10 days. Advice varies based on vaccination status. Guidelines for those infected or in close contact are online at healthvermont.gov/covid-19/symptoms-sickness.
The latest steps come as positive case reports continue to decline, according to Health Department data. As of Friday, the seven-day daily case average was under 120. Although 174 new cases were reported on Friday, just 22 Vermonters were hospitalized with COVID-19; six of those individuals were in intensive care. Reports of COVID-related deaths have slowed as well. So far in March, four deaths have been recorded as of Friday. February saw 59 deaths and the total for the pandemic stands at 608 for the state.
Locally, the latest community data released on Friday by the Health Department showed just 21 new cases for Waterbury for the seven days that ended on Wednesday, March 9.
Other nearby communities are seeing fewer cases reported as well: 10 were reported for Stowe in the past week; three and four in Moretown and Waitsfield respectively. Barre City, which has led Washington County in recent months, had just 20 cases in the past week; Montpelier had seven, all according to the latest town-by-town state report.
Adjustments ahead at schools
The coming week is likely to be one of many adjustments as school students and staff navigate individual decisions around mask-wearing in particular. Nease in her memo said schools “will work to create an environment where such choice is treated with respect and kindness,” acknowledging that people will make different decisions. “We will have the daily opportunity to practice support and understanding for individual choices around masks,” she said.
Although general mask guidance leaves the choice to the individual, students and staff are still expected to follow state guidance regarding exposure and infection as outlined by the Vermont Department of Health. In those cases, individuals are asked to wear a mask around others for 10 days.
One big change will be schools ending their practice of notifying families and staff when they may have been in close contact with someone who tests positive. Starting Monday, the responsibility to notify contacts will fall with the infected individual.
“Beginning March 14, 2022, schools will no longer be responsible for notifying families of potential COVID-19 exposure. Per Vermont Department of Health guidelines, individuals testing positive are asked to notify those with whom they have had close contact,” the school district memo says.
The district also will end email notifications of COVID case data. An online count will be kept for the district overall with updates to it done weekly, Nease said.
One additional significant change will be that unvaccinated staff will no longer need to test weekly and visitors to schools will no longer need to show proof of vaccination. School volunteers and visitors will still be limited, needing approval for entering buildings.
Nease said school officials will still be monitoring the prevalence of COVID-19 in schools and will be prepared to change protocols if necessary. “We will continue to collect data regarding COVID-19 cases infectious while in school, as well as how student and staff attendance is impacted by COVID-19,” she writes. “We remain ready to shift, as we have done over the past two years if data indicates that risk levels merit such a change.”
Read the full community update at HUUSD.org.