Face Masks Optional At Sarasota County Schools: Report

Sarasota FL

13 July, 2021

7:09 PM

Description

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Face masks will be optional for students, teachers, staff and visitors at Sarasota County Schools in the upcoming 2021-22 school year. The Sarasota County School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to update its face mask policy put in place early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. The policy is for everyone, whether they're vaccinated or unvaccinated, reports said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently released its latest guidance for K-12 students, said masks should be worn indoors by everyone 2 and older who isn't vaccinated. The CDC also recommends that schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students when indoors. Children under the age of 12 are not currently eligible for any of the coronavirus vaccines on the market. Currently, the Pfizer brand vaccine is available to everyone 12 and older. Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Sarasota newsletters and real-time email alerts. In April, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran told school districts they should make face masks voluntary for students, Florida Politics reported. "Upon reviewing the policies of those districts with mandatory face covering policies, reviewing all districts relevant health data, and factoring in such data points as the percentage of students learning in-person and the relative population of a county (which is often synonymous with a county's community health resources), the data shows us that districts' face covering policies do not impact the spread of the virus," he wrote in his letter Florida's superintendents, according to reports. Nearby in Manatee County, face masks were made optional for students, staff and anyone coming onto district campuses or properties at the end of May.