It will be OK to go without a mask while outdoors during this year’s graduation services in Henry County.
The school system on Monday updated its COVID-19 rules, including making masks optional for all outdoor spaces and activities, increasing seating capacity at outside events from 33% to 50%, and allowing the community to rent outdoor spaces on all campuses.
“After navigating this worldwide pandemic since February and March of 2020, this is a tremendous step forward to getting our school district back toward some normalcy that we were accustomed to prior to having to change everything about how we provided a high-quality education to our students and families, Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis said in a release.
“We don’t take these latest actions lightly, and they come after close review of our local health metrics and updated guidance from our trusted health partners and state government officials,” she said.
The Henry County Board of Education approved the changes at a special called meeting Monday. The district said it will continue to monitor and review health-related data and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the state’s District 4 Public Health Department and local medical professionals.
Other changes include increasing seating capacity at indoor events from 25% to 33% and opening the Performing Arts Center at Fairview for public use. School-sponsored summer camps also will be allowed to operate on campus under the new guidelines.
“We are so excited to be taking these steps for our district because it shows that the hard work and decisions of our district to ensure the health and safety of our school community have made a positive impact, and we can now move in this direction to ease some of the restrictions that were put in place,” board Chairwoman Holly Cobb said.
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