WS Chronicle

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ Board of Education has voted to masks optional throughout the district beginning Feb. 28.

Mask were made mandatory before the start of 2021-2022 school year to help prevent the spread of COVID. Before the start of each semester, the board revisited the mandate but it was renewed every time, until now.

According to Superintendent Tricia McManus and Katie Key, director of school nursing, the new recommendation is a result of changes that have been made to the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit.

New guidelines say individual contact tracing and exclusion from school of asymptomatic people after an identified exposure, is no longer recommended. There is also no exclusion required for asymptomatic individuals, regardless of vaccination status. Individuals who have been exposed or test positive are recommended to wear a well-fitting mask for at least five days.

Masks are still required to be worn on buses and all WS/FCS transportation as required by a federal regulation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WS/FCS will continue to review COVID-19 data and will report the data monthly to the board of education for mask recommendations. It is important to note that the City of Winston-Salem’s mask mandate will end on March 1, and Gov. Roy Cooper recommends discontinuation of mask mandates by March 7.

For more information on the mask mandate or the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit visit https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/media/164/open.