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ECDOH offers statement to clarify questions about mask breaks in schools

Submitted

Tue, Nov 9th 2021 08:05 pm

To clarify the correspondence the Erie County Department of Health sent to the Williamsville Central School District last week, and address the subsequent reactions from school superintendents and parents, ECDOH does not intend to take enforcement measures against schools that are providing students with mask breaks during the school day.

It said, “Our county’s current case rates and high totals of new daily cases – the highest since the wave of cases in April 2021 – give our department cause for deep concern. Proper and consistent use of masks is an important way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, but our department’s primary focus continues to be education, outreach, testing and vaccination efforts – not punitive measures.

“ECDOH joins with parents and school administrators in wanting to maximize in-person learning, prevent illness among our county’s youngest residents, and bring a safe and quick end to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an opportunity to remind parents and caregivers that full vaccination against COVID-19 provides a protective benefit for children ages 5 and older, and eliminates the need for quarantine if that child is a COVID-19 close contact and remains asymptomatic.”

For more:

√ ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine information and clinic schedule: http://www.erie.gov/vax

√ ECDOH, COVID-19 information line: 716-858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available

√ ECDOH, COVID-19 weekly data updates: https://www2.erie.gov/health/index.php?q=covid-19-media-data

√ New York State Department of Health, COVID-19 boosters: http://ny.gov/boosters

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