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October 21, 2021 - SACRAMENTO - On Wednesday, a joint statement issued by California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, and California Department of Public Health Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragón, reaffirmed the state's approach to preventing COVID-19 in schools and protecting our students' health – continuing the state's successful masking requirements in K-12 settings:
"From day one, California has stepped up with policies that keep our children and school staff safe. Universal masking, combined with vaccination measures and access to regular testing, have been key to the state's nation-leading success in keeping schools open – resulting in California accounting for less than 1% of all school closures nationwide, despite educating 12% of the nation's public school students.
"Thanks to these policies, and the collective efforts of Californians getting vaccinated and masking up, California has consistently had some of the lowest COVID-19 case rates in the entire country.
"Now is not the time to let our guard down – especially as the winter months approach. Ongoing vigilance is critical to protect against COVID-19. This is particularly important for schools, where many children are not vaccinated. Although infection rates are decreasing, more than 25 counties continue to experience high transmission, as classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospital capacity remains impacted in some regions, and approximately 80 Californians continue to die daily, on average.
"Due to these considerations, California is reaffirming its current approach to COVID-19 prevention and containment in schools and will continue to maintain the universal indoor mask mandate in K-12 schools and will continue to monitor conditions through the winter.
"Recent studies from the 2021-2022 school year confirm that schools with universal masking requirements are less likely to experience outbreaks, and that areas of the United States without school mask mandates experienced larger increases in pediatric COVID-19 case rates after the school year began, compared to areas with school mask requirements. Consistent with the guidance, California continues to assess conditions on an ongoing basis to determine whether to update mask requirements or recommendations.
"This strategy represents the best path for schools to protect children and school staff, ensuring that classrooms remain safe spaces for learning, and children are provided every opportunity to be successful."
Source: CDPH
