COVID Classroom Mask Requirements Lifted For San Francisco Elementary Schools
SAN FRANCISCSO (CBS SF) -- Thousands of San Francisco elementary school students returned from Spring Break Monday, finally free from being required to wear masks in their classrooms to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
A month ago, San Francisco health officials had lifted the classroom mask mandate for junior and senior high students, but left it in place for public school elementary and pre-school students.
Instead, all students will now be "strongly recommended" to wear masks.
"We are starting with middle and high schools, where there are higher vaccination rates, in order to give more time for families of younger students to get their children vaccinated," Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said in a statement in March.
According to the latest San Francisco COVID vaccination dashboard, 31,291 residents ages 5-11 have been completely vaccinated. That represents 71 percent of the young population.
To help prevent a surge in cases as students return from vacation, the San Francisco Unified School District handed out 123,000 COVID at-home testing kits before the students left on break.
Parents were urged to test their children before sending them off to school on Monday.
"We really hope that we can catch those people who may be testing positive for COVID-19, said SFUSD spokesperson Laura Dudnik. "So, instead of having them come to school and potentially spread that around, they will know to stay home and follow the isolation protocols and quarantine protocols,"