California Health and Human Services (HSS) announced Monday via a press conference that, despite the change in masking requirements for vaccinated individuals indoors, students and teachers in California schools are required to continue wearing masks regardless of vaccination status.
Although we are “getting to a place where we can relax state-wide masking requirements,” Secretary Mark Ghaly said, masks will remain required in California schools.
California HHS will reassess the data on Feb. 28, making another decision about whether or not masks will remain required in California schools. Cases, hospitalizations, vaccination rates and global and national COVID-19 trends will be used as indicators while making the decision.
Ghaly said that the day masks are no longer required in schools is a matter of “when, not if,” and masking requirements will expire as conditions approve.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, California has invested $850 million into school safety protocols. Despite having the most K-12 public school students in the country, California schools have amounted to less than 1% of school closures.
