Masks will not be mandatory in California, Oregon, and Washington schools starting March 11, the governors of the three states announced Monday.
The West Coast states are three of nine holdout states that have yet to lift mask mandates in schools. Monday’s announcement puts the three blue states more closely in line with Republican-led states, which have rejected such mandates and restrictions for months, even before the omicron wave hit and then subsided.
“California continues to adjust our policies based on the latest data and science, applying what we’ve learned over the past two years to guide our response to the pandemic,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Masks are an effective tool to minimize spread of the virus and future variants, especially when transmission rates are high. We cannot predict the future of the virus, but we are better prepared for it and will continue to take measures rooted in science to keep California moving forward.”
The changing guidance for schools comes as the wave caused by the omicron variant recedes and just a few weeks after blue state governors began a blitz of lifting mask mandates for indoor public spaces, including schools in some cases. The three governors’ announcement also came just three days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed masking guidelines.
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“Together, as we continue to recover from the omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic. As we learn to live with this virus, we must remain vigilant to protect each other and prevent disruption to our schools, businesses, and communities — with a focus on protecting our most vulnerable and the people and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said.
The CDC is now using a metric that measures COVID-19’s burden on hospitals as well as the rate of new confirmed cases, a pivot away from relying solely on the latter, to determine areas of the country where the risk of illness is greatest. Using the previous metric, almost the entire country was in the highest threat level of transmission. Now, the agency says roughly 70% of U.S. counties are classified as having a low-to-medium risk of contracting the virus in the community.
Still, the CDC shows that most of California, Oregon, and Washington still fall into the high-risk category, meaning people are still encouraged to wear masks in public places.
“We’ve continued to monitor data from our state Department of Health, and have determined we are able to adjust the timing of our statewide mask requirement,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said. “While this represents another step forward for Washingtonians, we must still be mindful that many within our communities remain vulnerable. Many businesses and families will continue choosing to wear masks because we’ve learned how effective they are at keeping one another safe.”
On the opposite coast, New York officials announced similar moves over the weekend to lift mandates in schools. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that a statewide mask mandate for schools would be lifted Wednesday, leaving the final decision of whether to mandate masks to individual school districts.
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who oversees the largest school district in the United States, with nearly a million children, also announced Sunday that students would no longer be required to wear masks beginning March 7.
