COVINGTON, Ga. — Starting Monday, face coverings will no longer be required for students and staff at Newton County Schools.
Newton County Schools Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey announced Saturday, Nov. 6, the decision to lift the district's mask mandate that initially went into effect Aug. 9. Despite no longer being a requirement, Fuhrey said the use of face coverings would continue to be "strongly recommended."
“It was stated, at the time the mandate was instituted, that it would be temporary and correlate directly to our community conditions,” Fuhrey said in a news release. “After continuous review of the COVID-19 data and consulting with our local medical professionals and advising the school board on their feedback, beginning Monday, Nov. 8, masks will be strongly recommended for all students and staff.
“While we are loosening our mask requirement, it continues to be important that students and staff wash their hands, use hand sanitizer, and watch their distance as an integral part of our layered prevention strategy.”
At last report from the district, only 12 new COVID-19 cases were reported among students and only four among staff. There were 36 students and two staff members under "precautionary quarantines." By comparison, in August there were 154 new cases among students and 24 new cases among staff; roughly 500 students and staff members were quarantined.
“Since Aug. 9, our students and employees have been practicing the three Ws — washing their hands, wearing their masks and watching their distance — and I am confident their actions have played a huge role in the decrease in COVID-19 cases in both our school system and the Newton County community at large,” Fuhrey said.
However, Fuhrey warned the mask mandate could be reinstated if COVID-19 case numbers were to rise again.
“We are approaching the holiday season and people will congregate amongst family and friends who they might not ordinarily see,” she said. “The chances of becoming exposed to COVID-19 will be high. So please understand, if our community’s COVID-19 cases increase again, we will be forced to reinstitute the mask mandate.”
