Add Staunton City Schools to the list of local school systems that will continue to require students, staff and visitors to wear masks in school and in school vehicles in the face of an executive order from Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued on Jan. 15.
“Given the high transmission of COVID-19 in our community and the Centers for Disease Control’s guidance for communities in high transmission areas, Staunton City Schools will continue to require all students, staff, and visitors to wear masks in school and in school vehicles as part of our layered approach to health and safety. Our layered prevention strategies have proven effective in keeping transmission rates low in our schools,” the school system posted in a note on its public Facebook page on Tuesday.
Staunton joins Albemarle County, Charlottesville and Harrisonburg among the school divisions statewide that have announced plans to continue requiring masking.
Youngkin, a Republican elected in November, signed an executive order last week declaring that parents can now make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school.
A state law passed last year requiring that school divisions provide in-person instruction for students while adhering to the CDC masking requirements for schools remains in effect until August.
Story by Chris Graham
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Chris Graham
