SAN DIEGO—With increases in COVID-19 cases in schools and communities, the San Diego Unified School District has a plan to reinstate mask mandates starting Wednesday if specific conditions are met in individual schools.
The district sent a letter, obtained by KUSI, to parents and families informing them of the plan to require students at specific schools to wear masks indoors for at least two weeks under the following conditions:
—Within 14 days, at least three outbreaks, defined as three or more cases in an individual classroom or stable group, occur in the school, and more than 5 percent of the school population is affected
—In a three consecutive-day span, 10 percent or more of the student population is absent each day due to illness.
“Over the past several weeks there has been a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in our schools, our local communities in San Diego County, and across our country as a whole,” the district stated in its letter to families, according to KUSI. “While this is not the rapid surge we saw in January, it is still a concern and a trend that we expect to continue.”
According to the letter, the district will mandate indoor masks universally if San Diego County reaches the “high” level of COVID cases as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The county is currently in the “low” category.
As of May 11, 1,570 students in the district were reported absent because of COVID-19 symptoms.
For the week of May 15–21, 1,112 positive COVID-19 cases from students and staff were reported in the district.
According to data provided by the district, 47 percent of students ages 5–11 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 71 percent of students ages 12–15 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 84 percent of students ages 16 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
