Wayne County Ends Mask Mandate In Schools

WAYNE COUNTY, MI — A day after state health officials pulled back its recommendations to wear face masks in public indoor places, including schools, Wayne County health officials announced Thursday morning it will no longer require students and faculty to wear masks in schools.

Even though the county’s chief health officer Dr. Avani Sheth rescinded the mandate, he said the masks are still recommended to help decrease the spread of COVID-19.

"Children should continue to be supported to wear a mask, including but not limited to for reasons such as individual and/or household risk factors and vaccination status," Sheth said.

The withdrawal of the order goes into effect immediately, and students and faculty in schools will no longer be required to wear face masks. The order was first implemented in August of last year.

The decision comes just one day after the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services relaxed its recommendations on mask wearing in indoor public places and schools, due to a sharp decrease in state COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

State health officials reported Wednesday 2,135 new COVID-19 cases over a two-day period, which is significantly lower than the averages of 17,000-20,000 daily new cases that were reported in January.

The state’s average positive test rate has also sharply declined, and is now at 10.73% after spiking to near 35% in January.