Reading Schools Set Mask Mandate, New 'Test And Stay' Policy

READING, MA — The Reading School Committee voted 6-0 Thursday to approve a mask mandate this upcoming school year. Students, staff and visitors will be required to wear a face covering while inside school buildings this fall.

At Thursday's meeting, Superintendent Thomas Milaschewski also outlined some changes to the district's testing and quarantine policies, which are designed to limit the number of days a student is out of school.

The district will shift to what Milaschewski described as a "test and stay" model. This means if a student is determined to be a close contact of a confirmed case, that student can be tested in school for five consecutive days. Students will be allowed to stay in the classroom as long as they continue to test negative over those five days.

"Instead of these long quarantines, students have the option to stay in the 'test and stay' protocol," Milaschewski said.

The district is exempting fully vaccinated people who are asymptomatic from being considered a "close contact."

"This could be a game changer at the high school level if we have a high vaccination rate," Milaschewski said.

Other exempted groups include people who are masked and at least three feet away from someone who tests positive – Milaschewski said this is more relevant at the elementary level, where there will not be set guidance around classroom distancing – people on buses where the windows are open, and people who have had COVID-19 in the past 90 days.

Distancing requirements will be in place during lunch, and outdoor lunch and class time is encouraged.

Reading will also streamline the process for pooled testing. Milaschewski said two swabs will be taken, the first of which will go into the test pool. If the pool comes back positive, then the second swab will be used to isolate the cases.

"That eliminates some of the burden on our nurses to come around the next day and test everyone who was in the pool," Milaschewski said.