Fayette County schools under district-wide mask mandate through Sept. 17

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. - A Fayette County Public Schools spokesperson said the entire district will be under a mask mandate, effective on Tuesday through Sept. 17. 

In a letter to parents, officials said the district's COVID-19 task force made the decision in response to a rise in cases across the district. 

Currently, the district reports 16 of Fayette County's 24 schools require masks because more than 1% of the student and faculty population were positive for COVID-19. That will extend to all schools now that officials say the school system as a whole exceeds the 1% threshold with signs that indicated all schools would be under the protocol by the end of the week.

The district plans to update parents on the measure on Sept. 13. 

Once the positivity rate of all schools combined drops below 1% for two consecutive weeks, officials said they will re-evaluate the face-covering protocol. 

"We recognize that this mandate is not the ideal situation, and that there are some who may be dissatisfied with this decision. Our goal from the beginning has been to keep students in school with their teachers. Not only is this the best option for their academic success, but it is also critical to the overall health of our community. When students are in our buildings, they are not congregating and socializing in the community, which puts public health at risk. Our ability as a community to pull together and take this safety measure improves our chances of keeping our schools open and everyone healthy."

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