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Masks will be required for all for the first 10 days of the upcoming School District of Philadelphia school year, but they will be optional thereafter as long as coronavirus transmission levels are not high.

Provided transmission levels remain low or medium, masking after the first 10 days will be optional but strongly recommended, SDP School System Medical Officer Dr. Kendra McDow announced Friday while laying out the pandemic protocols for the upcoming school year..

Masking for the first 10 days will be mandatory to reduce the risk of infection following increased social interactions before the start of classes on Aug. 29, McDow said.

“This is an extra precaution for everyone’s health and wellbeing, since increased end-of-summer social gatherings may heighten the risk of exposure to COVID-19,” she said.

Masking Rules

The district last semester at times instituted both optional and mandatory masking, as well as staff and student testing, in response to infection rates in the city. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends masks when community transmission levels are high. Philadelphia’s community transmission level is currently considered medium.

If transmission levels become high, masking will be mandatory for students and staff in classes and buses. Universal masking may also be required regardless of community transmission levels in instances like classroom or schoolwide outbreaks and upon return from extended breaks and holidays, McDow said.

Students and staff in pre-kindergarten programs will continue to be required to wear masks regardless of transmission levels.

Quarantine Rules

Students and staff exposed to the virus but who themselves do not have symptoms will be allowed to remain at school, but they must wear a mask for 10 days.

Students and staff who test positive will need to isolate for at least five days. If symptom-free after five days, they can return to school but must wear an N95 or KF94 mask for five more days and must eat in a designated area, McDow said. Students in quarantine are required to attend virtual classes.

Vaccines, meanwhile, are still highly recommended, but they will no longer be required for student athletes, McDow said. Vaccines are still mandatory for staff, however.

“Our families, staff and students can be confident that we’re taking necessary steps to prioritize their health as they return to school,” Superintendent Tony Watlington said.

Monkeypox:

A new concern as the school year begins is the outbreak of monkeypox, which U.S. health officials have declared a public health emergency.

The virus presents itself as a rash and causes symptoms like fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches, according to the CDC. It spreads through “close, personal, often skin-to-skin” contact, including touching objects, fabrics and surfaces used by someone with monkeypox.

McDow noted, however, that 99% of cases in the U.S. are among adults and that the risk of infection for children remains low. The district is working with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to “actively monitor the situation” and will seek guidance from the department and the CDC to identify any needed safety measures in schools, she said.

Districtwide monkeypox protocols are currently in development, McDow said.