ISS Board Reverses Course, To Require Masks In Iredell Schools

IREDELL COUNTY, NC — All students and staff in Iredell-Statesville Schools will now be required to wear a mask indoors, according to school board officials.

The new mandate, which reverses course for the school district that began the school year with a mask-optional policy, was affirmed by a 4-2 vote in an emergency Iredell-Statesville Board of Education meeting Tuesday afternoon.

The policy goes into effect Thursday, Sept. 2 and will be reevaluated monthly, a spokesperson for the school district said.

SEE ALSO: First Week: 986 ISS Students In Quarantine Or COVID Symptomatic

The news comes as at least 69 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the school district during the first week of school last week, with nearly 1,000 students placed in quarantine due to potential school or community contact or due to having symptoms, according to school district data.

At least 10 school district staffers and 59 students tested positive for COVID-19 during the week of Aug. 20 through Aug. 26, ISS said Friday. At least seven of the cases were considered secondary spread within schools.

Of the students reported as out, at least 583 were in quarantine due to a school contact, 201 were in quarantine from a possible community contact, and 202 were isolating with COVID-19 symptoms, ISS said.

Among staff members, at least eight were in quarantine due to a school contact, 10 were in quarantine from a possible community contact, and 23 were isolating with COVID-19 symptoms.

SEE ALSO:

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