Although mask mandates in schools across the Commonwealth will be eased at the end of the month, Somerville public schools will continue its masking protocols for the near future.

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Last week the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley, announced updates to mask mandates in schools across the Commonwealth.

In a statement released by DESE on February 9, the department announced that mask mandates in K-12 schools would be lifted after February 28. The mandate was first implemented back in August 2021.

According to vaccination statistics from the CDC, about 78 percent of all Massachusetts residents are fully vaccinated, this rate makes the Commonwealth one of the most vaccinated populations in the United States.

Governor Baker echoed these sentiments in his reasoning for lifting mask mandates in schools. “With Massachusetts a national leader in vaccinating kids, combined with our robust testing programs, it is time to lift the mask mandate in schools and give students and staff a sense of normalcy after dealing with enormous challenges over the past two years.” Governor Baker said.

Although the mask mandate in schools is to be lifted, a new testing program is slated to remain in place. “Massachusetts also has nation-leading school testing programs, including a newly launched at-home testing program for students and educators. These testing options will remain in place,” according to the statement.

Currently in the Commonwealth there are three different ways for K-12 students to be tested for COVID. With At-Home Rapid Antigen Testing, Diagnostic Testing and Pool testing being these options.

Although this update was released by a state agency, individual school districts can continue to require masks in schools. One of the school districts that will continue to require masks in schools is in Somerville.

In an email, Somerville Public Schools (SPS) stated their intention to maintain mask mandates in schools. “Currently, Somerville Public School’s COVID-19 mitigations remain unchanged, including mask requirements,” the email stated. “We’ll continue to evaluate local, state, and national guidance, and modify our safety measures according to community data and expert recommendations.”

In another email sent to SPS staff, the district expressed cautious optimism at the current state of COVID across the district. “We are fortunately seeing a rapid decline in COVID cases across SPS and Somerville. SPS is now back to pre-Thanksgiving levels in terms of weekly cases,” the email said. “While the district will continue multi-layered mitigation, we will be adjusting some protocols to align with lower transmission rates.”

According to the City of Somerville, in the previous 10 days, there have been 275 confirmed cases across the city. Also, according to the same statistics, about 61,000 people in the city are fully vaccinated with all three doses.

In the same email sent to staff, the district outlined mask requirements for sporting events in the future. “In that spirit, SPS is reopening athletic events to spectators next week and we have updated our testing protocols to align with DESE’s updated testing program. The indoor mask requirement at athletic and school events will remain for now,” according to the email.

COVID testing in the district is slated to be mostly done though at-home antigen tests, these test kits are named iHealth kits. The district is expecting for students to receive these kits late this week.

According to protocols, students and staff are asked to use these kits every Sunday before the beginning of the school week.

Looking towards the future, the City of Somerville and Somerville Public Schools will keep adjusting mask mandates in schools. “The School Committee and Board of Health will have to vote on changing their respective mask policies. We will be working with the School Committee to address this important issue, but do not anticipate a change in school masking requirements on February 28 directly after February break,” according to the staff email.