COVINGTON, Ga. — Officials announced Wednesday night, Feb. 9, that Newton County School System (NCSS) will lift its mask mandate beginning today, Feb. 10.

Superintendent Samantha Fuhrey added that, although masks will not be required, they will be highly recommended for both students and staff.

“It was stated, at the time the mandate was instituted, that it would be temporary and correlate directly to our community conditions,” Fuhrey said. 

“After continuous review of the COVID-19 data and consulting with our local medical professionals, beginning Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022, masks will be highly recommended — but not required — 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,” Fuhrey said.

The mandate was implemented at the beginning of the second semester. 

Although the school system has seen a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases, Fuhrey warned that the mask mandate could come back if numbers shoot back up.

“We must all continue to remain diligent in practicing the available safety precautions to help reduce the spread of the virus,” she said. “So please understand, if our community’s COVID-19 cases increase again, we will be forced to reinstitute the mask mandate.”