The School District of Philadelphia mandates that students and staff wear masks for the first 10 days of the school year and requires pre-kindergarten students to cover the entire year. Officials from the school district and city made the announcement in a letter to parents Friday, saying that after the first 10 days of the school year, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9, most schools will operate with masks. The letter states that when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s level of community transmission of COVID-19 is high, students and staff should wear masks in schools. When the level is medium, coverage is “highly recommended.” According to the release, students and staff in the district’s Pre-K Head Start program, the district’s for-profit pre-kindergarten program for ages 3-5, will be required to wear a mask for the entire 2022-2023 school year. FOX NEWS POLL: MORE WORRIED ABOUT CORONA THAN MONKEYPOX Students play outside at recess as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are lifted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Hannah Beier) “For the first 10 days of the new school year – from August 29 to September 9 – all students and staff will be required to wear masks while at school, regardless of community level of COVID-19,” the statement said. “Students and staff in PreK Head Start programs are still required to wear masks at all times, regardless of community level.” There are also situations where an individual mask requirement may apply, such as school-wide or classroom-wide outbreaks of COVID-19 or when returning from extended breaks and holidays. The district is also implementing a “mask to stay” program, stating that students and staff who have been exposed to COVID-19 can remain in school but must wear a mask for 10 days. CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ VACCINE ORDER DENIED Students return to school as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are lifted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Hannah Beier) If a student tests positive for COVID-19, they are required to self-isolate at home for at least five days, but may return to school afterward if they have no symptoms “but must wear a high-quality mask (N95 or KN95) for an additional 5 days and must eat in a designated area,” the statement said. Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News medical analyst and professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, said there is “no public health value” to masking students and staff for the first 10 days of school. year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A schoolgirl reflects her lunch bag on a wall in a hallway as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are lifted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Reuters/Hannah Beier) “The whole point is that the mandates don’t work at all. So, you know, they just cloud the question of whether there’s any public health value in actually doing any of this. I mean, I think if you’re at a high level of risk, there is. So if I were in a high-spread area and at high risk, I might choose to wear a mask indoors. But there’s no evidence that these orders do anything. Siegel added that “ten-day orders are like a sign of hypocrisy.” Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @asabes10.
