All schools expected to follow Mecklenburg, Charlotte mask mandate, officials say
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Charlotte 2021 Back to School
Due to COVID-19, masks are required at CMS and adults are encouraged to get vaccinated. There’s also a push among educators ad parents to catch up students who lost academic progress during the pandemic.
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All schools — public, private and parochial — are now explicitly included in the Mecklenburg County and Charlotte mask mandate.
The mask mandate, which went into effect Wednesday evening, requires everyone age 5 and up to wear masks in indoor public places in the city of Charlotte and unincorporated areas of Mecklenburg County.
That includes all schools and all businesses, both public and private, Mecklenburg and Charlotte officials said in a statement Monday.
Late Monday, Gregory Monroe, the head of Catholic schools in Charlotte, in a letter to parents will “observe the mandate” beginning Wednesday. There are nine Catholic schools in the Charlotte system.
“We continue to believe parents are in the best position to understand their children’s needs, and will allow for parents to request an exemption in line with the proclamation,” Monroe wrote. “Staff with health conditions or other circumstances that require them to be exempt may also request an exemption.”
On Friday, Mecklenburg officials announced that the change was coming, after Monroe said he wouldn’t follow recommendations to require masks in classrooms.
Monroe told families the county order didn’t apply to private schools in a letter on Thursday, the Observer reported last week.
Friday night, Monroe issued a statement saying “we appreciate the Mecklenburg County Health Department’s efforts to clarify the intent and revise the language of its mask mandate. After conversations with the County today, we understand they intended for schools to be covered by the mask mandate...” Monroe added: “We will review the revised Rule and adjust our operations as necessary.”
In a letter sent to parents Monday evening, Monroe said MACS would observe the mandate beginning Wednesday. That gives schools a day to make “necessary adjustments,” the letter said.
The current mask mandate is an interim measure implemented by Charlotte and the county as health officials wait for the countywide mask mandate to kick in on Aug. 31.
That mask requirement will apply to the entire county, including the six Mecklenburg-area towns.
The push for mask mandates has been renewed as Mecklenburg County and the state see a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, largely fueled by the rise in cases of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19.
In the last week, Mecklenburg has been reporting average daily new COVID-19 cases similar to levels reported in early February.
And nearly half of Mecklenburg County residents are unvaccinated.
Unvaccinated people make up more than 90% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, Atrium Health infectious disease expert Dr. Katie Passaretti told reporters Monday.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
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