Gwinnett Schools Will Mandate Masks To Slow Spread Of Coronavirus

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Masks will be mandatory for the coming year in Georgia’s largest school district.

At a called meeting Tuesday afternoon, Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks told the county’s board of education that masks would be required for all students, staff and visitors when schools reopen — on Aug. 12. Classes originally had been scheduled to start on Aug. 5.

In a statement, Wilbanks said the extra week “will give the district additional time to review and adjust this return to school plan” to accommodate controlling the spread of COVID-19.

"Ultimately, we made our decisions based on what we believe is in the overall best interest of the district’s students, families and staff,” Wilbanks said. “In the weeks to come, we will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Gwinnett County and, if necessary, will revise our plans as conditions warrant.”

In other business, in-person high school graduation ceremonies planned for later in July were cancelled. Online graduation ceremonies were held in May.

In addition to having Georgia’s largest school district, Gwinnett County also has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the state’s 159 counties — 9,972 as of Tuesday.

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