CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – After beginning the school year with a mask mandate in place, Camden County Schools will make the wearing of masks optional starting Wednesday, the school district announced.
“Removing the mask requirement for our schools does not signal that the fight against Covid is over. This deadly virus has taken a very real toll on families in our community. We continue to offer our deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by or lost loved ones due to Covid. I ask you to take a moment to visit the Georgia Coastal Health District website at www.gachd.org to learn about Covid preventative measures and the availability of free Covid immunizations in our area,” Superintendent Dr. John Tucker said.
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The decision to remove the mask requirement was made with the input of the System Steering Committee and in response to the continuing downward trend of the Camden Covid Community Transmission Index (CTI) and 7-day Rolling Average of Covid cases in Camden, the school district said.
The district said when the school year began on Aug. 2, the CTI was 1,020 and the index peaked on Aug. 30 at 1,493, and has been steadily decreasing since late September to the current CTI of 172.
While Camden County Schools will no longer require masks, schools will continue to offer enhanced sanitizing and observe social distancing whenever possible.
The district will also continue to partner with the Georgia Coastal Health District, Southeast Georgia Health System, and Camden Emergency Management to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the community in the upcoming months and could reinstate a mask mandate if cases spike again.