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Mid-Ohio Valley schools imposing mask mandates

BELPRE — As COVID-19 cases continue to rise locally, more school districts are imposing mask mandates.

Belpre City Schools Superintendent Jeff Greenley announced the decision in a message posted on the district’s Facebook page Friday afternoon.

He cited a 30 percent increase in the rolling two-week average number of positive cases in the Belpre zip code and three more positive cases between the district’s schools. Those positives resulted in about 50 students being quarantined.

“We have quarantined nearly 90 students just this week due to the Ohio Department of Health’s quarantine guidelines (roughly 10 percent of the student body),” he said. “If we do nothing, the number of students on quarantine will be so high that we will not be able to offer in-person services.”

The mask mandate will go into effect when students return from the holiday weekend Tuesday in Belpre City Schools, as well as Warren and Wolf Creek Local schools.

In the seven days since Wolf Creek opened for classes, five students have tested positive and more than 47 were quarantined, Superintendent Doug Baldwin said in a message posted to the district’s Facebook page Thursday.

“It is our goal to keep school open for in-person learning, students able to attend and avoid quarantine while making the school year as normal as possible,” he said. “The current trend of COVID cases does not allow us to meet those goals if we do not make a change at this point.”

Baldwin noted that ODH guidelines say students do not need to quarantine if they were wearing masks while in close contact with someone who tested positive and are not displaying symptoms. The same is true for those who are vaccinated.

Warren Local Superintendent Kyle Newton said masks will only be required indoors, except during lunch or gym class. He said the change is being made because of the “exponential growth of absenteeism.”

“We’ve had more COVID positive in 12 days this year than in six months last year,” Newton said.

He noted that at the high school, they’ve have four times more students absent in one day this year than in any single day last year during the pandemic.

“We will reevaluate every two weeks and make decisions then,” Newton said.

Marietta City Schools began requiring masks on Aug. 31.

The Wood County Board of Education voted earlier this week to mandate masks. The Jackson County school board followed suit on Thursday.

“The goal is to keep kids in school, if at all possible,” Jackson Superintendent Blaine Hess said.

Over the last school year, about 2,500 students were quarantined, he said. Already this year, there have been 523.

“That number is getting out of hand way too quickly,” Hess said.

The requirement goes into effect Tuesday. Since the decision was made Thursday evening, Hess said it might have caused confusion to implement it Friday morning.

Employees or students with a medical condition that might prevent them from wearing a mask can request an exemption. Requests will be forwarded to and considered by the Jackson County Health Department.

The Frontier Local School District Board of Education updated its mask policy during an emergency meeting on Thursday.

Starting Sept. 8, all staff and students who are vaccinated can be maskless at all times during school and riding the bus. However, those who are unvaccinated will have to wear masks at all times, from riding the bus to walking in the hallways. Masks can be removed while eating lunch and being outside for recess, in addition to in the classroom as long as students maintain three feet of social distance from classmates.

Frontier Superintendent Beth Brown said she plans to have talks with the district’s lawyer from Bricker and Eckler to find out if that plan would legally be possible.

If legally unable to follow through with the original motion, the board also approved a backup plan, under which all students will have to wear a mask at all times but can take off the masks in the classroom as long as social distancing is possible.

“I like the freedom of no mask, we did that for a whole year, but we understand right now it’s a different time than it was,” Brown said. “I’m hoping that we do the masking protocol for a little while until the numbers go down.”

Staff reporters Tyler Bennett and Michele Newbanks contributed to this story.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com

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