Despite the fastest surge in COVID-19 cases yet fueled by the omicron variant, some of the largest school districts in North Texas are still set to let mask mandates expire next month.
The mask mandates at Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD are set to end next month, despite children's hospitals seeing their numbers of patients triple and even quadruple in just one week.And now many school districts will also need to decide if they will reduce their quarantine recommendations in light of the new CDC guidelines.
As it stands, districts would be in violation of Governor Greg Abbott's ban on mask orders, which was upheld in early December by a federal appeals court. FILE - A poster from the CDC in the hallway that says,"Please wear a cloth face covering" and"Maintain a distance of 6 feet whenever possible."UT Dallas became the first college in North Texas to announce it will delay the start of classes due to COVID-19. It will be delayed by eight days, until after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Shane Fernando, an epidemiologist with UNT's Health Science Center, said the new guidelines are ones schools will have to weigh carefully.
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