SC health agency ‘strongly recommends’ masks in schools
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COVID-19 spikes again in South Carolina
Here’s the latest on the omicron variant surge, COVID-19 guidance and more in South Carolina.
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South Carolina’s public health agency says students and teachers should wear face masks in schools as the coming academic year begins, though it recognizes that a one-year law in the state budget prevents districts from mandating masks.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control issued a release at 3 a.m. Thursday offering its interim COVID-19 guidance for schools. The guidance comes as COVID-19 cases have spiked in South Carolina and the more transmissible delta variant has taken hold in the United States.
Among the guidance is that DHEC “strongly recommends mask use for all people when indoors in school settings.” The health agency says it “recognizes mask use cannot be mandated per the SC General Assembly.”
The state Legislature included a one-year law in this year’s budget that expressly says school districts cannot require masks to be worn, lest they risk losing state funding.
Specifically, the budget proviso says, “No school district, or any of its schools, may use any funds appropriated or authorized pursuant to this act to require that its students and/or employees wear a facemask at any of its education facilities. This prohibition extends to the announcement or enforcement of any such policy.”
The DHEC recommendation regarding masks comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week also said people in K-12 schools should wear masks, regardless of COVID vaccination status.
DHEC director Dr. Edward Simmer also strongly encouraged people to get vaccinated.
“Our first priority is the safety of our children and teachers,” Simmer said in a release. “That is why, above all else, we’re urging all eligible South Carolinians to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated if they haven’t already done so. The last thing we want is for COVID-19 to spread through our schools causing avoidable illness. Our students and educators deserve the right to learn and teach in a safe, healthy environment, and vaccinations will make that possible.
“The use of masks and other precautions recommended in our guidance will also help ensure a safe, healthy environment in our schools especially with the emergence of the Delta variant.”
DHEC also recommends in its interim guidance that districts should work with public health officials and health care agencies to “provide factual information and education about COVID-19 vaccination and to increase access to COVID-19 vaccines by coordinating vaccine clinics for staff, students, and families who wish to be vaccinated.”
The public health agency also notes that case investigation and contact tracing are “critical strategies” in identifying and isolating COVID-19 cases.
Earlier this week, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster said that masks for students is a decision that should be left up to parents.
“The Delta Variant poses a real threat to South Carolinians,” the governor tweeted. “However, shutting our state down, closing schools and mandating masks is not the answer. Personal responsibility is.”
On Thursday, S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman encouraged school districts to “familiarize” themselves with DHEC’s guidance and also encouraged families to talk to their doctor about vaccines.
“As noted in the (DHEC) guidance, vaccines remain the most effective tool we have to combat the virus and can ensure our school communities have the safest, most normal, uninterrupted school year possible,” Spearman said in a statement. “I encourage families of vaccine eligible students to speak with their pediatrician and strongly consider the personal protections and public health benefits of vaccination.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 8:59 AM.
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