What MA's Lifting Of COVID Restrictions Means For Reading Schools

READING, MA — Massachusetts will lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, including the mask mandate, May 29, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Monday.

In response, the Reading Public Schools updated some of its health and safety protocols. Effective Tuesday, the following guidelines are in place in Reading schools:

• All high school sports will continue to follow the mask and physical distancing procedures until the MIAA issues new guidelines.
• For students in PreK-5, recess and other activities must continue to be in cohorts of classes. Classrooms should not be mixed.
• Because students may not have a place to store their mask during recess or outdoor activities, it is advised that students bring more than one mask to school each day. Students and staff will still need to wear masks indoors and practice proper physical distancing procedures.
• As we get closer to end of the year events (i.e. graduation, proms, promotion ceremonies), the RPS will issue further guidelines.

Superintendent John Doherty said schools should continue to maximize ventilation, targeting 4-6 air exchanges per hour through any combination of ventilation and filtration, including keeping doors open, using portable air purifiers and keeping windows cracked one or two inches.

Schools with centralized systems or in-room unit ventilators should continue to have those units bring in as much fresh air as possible into the classrooms and increase the level of filtration in the system. Keeping windows open a few inches and doors open for cross-ventilation or using portable air cleaners with HEPA filters are good strategies.

If individual window air conditioning is used, schools should be mindful that many individual Air conditioning units often only recirculate air; they may not provide any ventilation, or they may only have low levels of filtration. These AC units can be used, but they are not a substitute for achieving the recommended 4-6 air exchanges per hour, Doherty said.

Fans may also be placed in windows facing outward to facilitate ventilation. They should not blow directly on or toward individuals.