'Universal Masking' Expected For Students, Staff, Guests Of BCPS

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Students, staff and visitors to Baltimore County Public Schools will be expected to mask up this fall. The board of education of Baltimore County will be holding a special meeting Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. to discuss universal masking and what it means for the district. The current federal order for masks to be worn on school buses will be upheld within BCPS.

Charles Herndon, spokesperson for Baltimore County Public Schools, told Patch that with an Aug. 30 return to the classroom, officials will continue to monitor recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with those from local and state health partners.

"Keep in mind that this pandemic is one where we've had to do a lot of twists and turns, sometimes daily, sometimes hourly. Considering the fact that we have a transmission rate that is changing almost daily, our mitigation strategies could change at any time," he said.

BCPS Superintendent Darryl L. Williams emphasized that “nothing is more important than the health and safety of our students, families, and employees."

“Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to impact our community. Universal masking is an important part of our multifaceted approach to mitigate the spread of COVID while keeping schools open for in-person learning," Williams said.

Dr. Gregory Wm. Branch, Baltimore County Health Officer, noted that requiring masks provides an "extra layer of protection for our students, teachers and their families.”

“I fully support Dr. Williams’ decision to protect Team BCPS students, staff, and visitors by adopting the latest mask recommendations from the CDC,” Makeda Scott, chair of the Board of Education of Baltimore County added. “As this crisis evolves, what matters most is that we continue to prioritize in-person learning by providing appropriate health and safety guidelines that respond to the latest conditions. I also join leaders across the county in encouraging all citizens aged 12 and over to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski weighed in on the matter, noting that since young children cannot be vaccinated and with the growing spread of the Delta variant, it's important to continue to take steps to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

“I applaud the decision by BCPS to adopt the CDC’s latest recommendations, and I encourage every county resident who is eligible to receive a vaccine to do so as soon as possible," Olszewski said.

National experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have recently updated their mask guidelines due to surges in COVID infections and hospitalizations across the nation, as well as a plateau in vaccinations.

As of July 29, there were 66,562 COVID-19 cases in Baltimore County, 1,650 deaths and 511,889 residents have been vaccinated, which is 61.87 percent of the county's population.