Mask mandate lifted in 35 Fulton County schools

Students in 35 northern Fulton County schools can remove their masks for the first time since the first week of classes.

Masks became optional on Wednesday in schools and administrative buildings located in the cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs. But they must still be worn on buses.

Face coverings now “are highly recommended” but no longer required in a third of Fulton’s schools. The high schools impacted include Alpharetta, Innovation Academy, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek, Northview, North Springs and Riverwood. More sites will likely join that list soon.

“We ask our students and staff to continue to employ practices to contain the level of infection in our communities, like physical distancing and frequent hand washing, which help keep our students and schools safe and focused on learning,” the district said, in messages posted this week to its Twitter account.

School districts in Fayette and Henry counties recently lifted mask mandates. Other metro districts, including Atlanta, Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, are keeping them in place.

Fulton lifted the mask rules in the three cities after the rate of COVID-19 infections there fell below 100 cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period. That threshold marks the difference between what’s considered a “high” and a “moderate” rate of spread.

To meet the district’s guidelines for removing masks, cities must meet that threshold for two consecutive data reports, as tallied by the Fulton County Board of Health.

As of Tuesday’s report, the COVID-19 rate in Alpharetta was 97.2 cases per 100,000 residents. In Johns Creek, it was 91, and it was 83.3 in Sandy Springs.

Two other cities, Palmetto and Roswell, dropped below 100 cases in Tuesday’s report. School masks won’t be required those locations if rates remain in the moderate zone in the next data check, to be issued Friday.

Since the start of the school year, the district has used city-level data to determine if masks must be worn in schools.

But starting Monday, the district plans to rely on school-level data. The new metric will allow Superintendent Mike Looney to waive mask requirements at schools where the ratio of positive COVID-19 cases is less than 1% of student enrollment.

In addition, Looney last week pledged to lift mask mandates in all buildings a month after children ages 5-11 become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends mask-wearing in schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Parents opposed to Fulton’s mask rules are suing the school board, saying their children have suffered physical and mental health problems because they’ve been forced to wear masks. The district successfully defended the requirement in the first court battle a few weeks ago.

For the week ending Oct. 21, the Fulton system reported 53 cases of COVID-19 among students and staff.