Mask Mandate: Anne Arundel Schools To Consider Face Coverings During COVID-19 Outbreaks

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — With COVID-19 cases rising, an indoor mask mandate may return to some Anne Arundel County Public Schools. This time, the requirement may only apply to schools with outbreaks. The Board of Education will discuss the idea at its Wednesday meeting.

AACPS previously revoked its system-wide mask mandate on Feb. 18. Infections were declining at the time, but they have since crept back up. A detailed update on coronavirus metrics is posted at the bottom of this story.

Anne Arundel County Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman suggested implementing these measures for schools that hit a 5 percent positivity rate, which is the threshold to for an outbreak:

• "Students and staff at such schools will be asked to wear masks in indoor school settings for 10 calendar days, with Day 1 being the day after the 5 percent mark is reached. Exceptions to masking will be made for meals, physical education and dance classes, and outdoor activities such as athletics. Exceptions also will be made for students and staff who have a documented inability, such as an Individualized Education Plan, to mask."
• "Students and staff at such schools will be given two COVID-19 at-home tests provided through the Department of Health and asked to test on Day 1 and Day 3, with Day 1 being the day after the 5 percent mark is reached. Those who test positive or who are otherwise symptomatic must remain home from school or work."

Superintendent George Arlotto supports these proposals.

This would replace the current outbreak directives from the Anne Arundel County Department of Health. Under the current rules, unvaccinated students and staff in a class or cohort with an outbreak are sent home for five days.

Officials hope a temporary mask mandate for schools with outbreaks will keep students in person and prevent switches to virtual learning.

Board members will discuss this pitch during their next meeting, which starts Wednesday at 6 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Parham Building, located in Annapolis at 2644 Riva Road. It is open to the public and subject to normal space limitations in the board room.

Residents can register for a chance to speak at the meeting using this link. Registration closes Wednesday at 10 a.m. A computer will randomly select 10 of the registrants to talk during the public comment portion of the meeting.

The randomly selected speakers will get an email notifying them that they were chosen. They will all get two minutes to speak.

The board will accept unlimited written comments, however. These comments must be 250 words or less, and they must be submitted on this webpage by 10 a.m. Wednesday. Residents can also drop off their comments at the Parham Building by that time.

Anybody who needs accommodations or an interpreter should call (410) 222-5311 to make those arrangements.

These are normal protocols for any agenda item with more than 10 residents wanting to speak. To learn more about the public comment process, click here.

AACPS will live stream the meeting on:

• Its YouTube channel
• Broadstripe channel 96
• Broadstripe high-definition channel 496
• Comcast channel 96
• Comcast high-definition channel 996
• Verizon channel 36
• Verizon high-definition channel 1961

The full press release announcing the masking proposal is posted here.

COVID-19 Metrics Update

Maryland's case rate is now seven times higher than its recent low earlier this spring. The case rate now sits at 34.31 new infections per day per 100,000 residents. That's up from the recent minimum of 4.53 set on March 24. The case rate is still below its all-time high of 235.17 set on Jan. 8.

The state's positivity rate is 8.02 percent. The percent positivity was as low as 1.43 on March 21. The all-time high of 29.98 percent came on Jan. 5.

Maryland has 403 COVID-19 patients in the hospital. Hospitalizations hit a recent low of 126 on April 1. The record maximum of 3,462 hospitalizations was set on Jan. 11.

About 95 percent of Maryland adults have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine. Around 92.2 percent of residents 5 and up have gotten one or more shots.

Maryland's population is 6,165,129. A total of 4,626,828 Marylanders are fully vaccinated. The state has given 2,345,556 booster doses.

Visit coronavirus.maryland.gov to explore all the pandemic data, which is updated daily. Residents can schedule a vaccine at marylandvax.org.

RELATED:

• Mask Mandate To Be Lifted In Anne Arundel County Public Schools

Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County news.