By Megan Kelley

Review Writer

On Monday, students across Oakland County, including Lake Orion Community Schools, attended school without a mask mandate for the first time in almost two years.

After roughly six months, the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) lifted their requirement to wear masks in schools and daycares on Feb. 28. Before that, masks had been mandated by the CDC.

According to a release from the OCHD on Feb. 11, the health division weighed several factors to determine the appropriate time to end the mask requirement in schools. The factors included a sharp decline in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and the increasing vaccination rates in Oakland County.

“As we see our critical measures of vaccinations, hospital admissions and cases moving in a direction that tell us the COVID-19 impact on our community is greatly improving, the time is right to remove the mask order for daycares and educational institutions,” health division medical director Dr. Russell Faust said in the release. “We must remain vigilant, however, while we remain in a pandemic. It is vital that we as individuals maintain the measures that are critical to limiting the spread of the virus while allowing businesses and schools to stay open, and our hospitals to operate safely.”

The announcement came two weeks before the actual rescinding of the mandate which allowed for school districts to prepare staff and families and allowed them to make any necessary district-level decisions and policies.

Additionally, as of Feb. 25, masks will not be required on buses either, after the Centers for Disease Control updated their requirements for transportation conveyances and hubs.

“CDC is exercising its enforcement discretion to not require that people wear masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems, including early care and education/child care programs. CDC is making this change to align with updated guidance that no longer recommends universal indoor mask-wearing in K-12 schools and early education settings in areas with a low or medium COVID-19 Community Level. School systems at their discretion may choose to require that people wear masks on buses or vans,” The CDC release from Feb. 25 stated.

In January of 2021, orders put forth by the CDC required masks on public and private school transportation vehicles.

It is important to note that despite masks not being mandated in school buildings or on school buses, masks are still required for Head Start as it is a federally funded program.

As for LOCS, Feb. 28 marked the end of a vast majority of required masking and the beginning of masking becoming a family/staff member decision within LOCS buildings.