Cobb, Marietta Schools End Mask Mandate For Fully Vaccinated

COBB COUNTY, GA — Cobb County School District and Marietta City Schools students, faculty and staff who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer have to wear masks in school facilities, on school buses or outside on campuses, the districts announced Thursday.

The announcements came within minutes of each other, and on the same day as newly-released guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on mask wearing for fully-vaccinated people. Both districts said the decision is based on the CDC's rule changes.

The new guidance states fully-vaccinated people don't have to wear masks or physically distance from others in any setting, except when required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations. This includes local business and workplace rules.

A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their last required dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Over the last year and a half, our students, staff, families, and entire county have faced very difficult circumstances. Our students have learned, and our teachers have taught, through the COVID-19 pandemic with information about COVID-19 that has not always been easy to understand," CCSD Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a news release.

Anyone who wishes to continue wearing a mask is free to do so at both MCS and CCSD.

Ragsdale and MCS Superintendent Grant Rivera both said they plan to start the 2021-22 school year with masks as optional, but official decisions will be made later this summer.

• SEE ALSO: CDC To Ease Indoor Mask Guidelines For Vaccinated: AP