Methacton Says Students And Staff Now Have The Option On Whether Or Not To Wear Masks

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — The Methacton School District has become yet another learning institution in Montgomery County that has now become a mask optional environment, the move coming after federal health officials recently announced a change in recommendation on face coverings following a decrease in coronavirus transmission levels in different parts of the country.

Methacton administrators said that as of this past Saturday, any students, staff or visitors inside district buildings would no longer be forced to wear a mask as a COVID-19 mitigation measure.

Superintendent David Zerbe told the community in a message this weekend that the position of the Methacton Board of School Directors has "always been that when safe to remove masking requirements, it would move swiftly to accomplish this action."

Zerbe said the school board and administrators determined that the new guidance offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "provides a positive reset on the metrics used to determine levels and the associated masking recommendation."

"As a school entity that has followed the CDC guidance from the beginning of this pandemic, it is both enlightening and revealing that this pandemic is near its end," Zerbe wrote.

Zerbe thanked the entire Methacton school community for "everything you have done to mitigate the risks of COVID in our community."

Methacton's announcement comes as other nearby Montgomery County school districts are also moving toward a mask-optional environment in light of the latest CDC recommendations, which say that masks are recommended, but not required, to be worn in areas in the low and moderate transmission levels.

Montgomery County is currently in the moderate tier.