On Monday, Feb. 28, 2022, the Germantown Academy administration team decided to go mask optional due to the decrease of COVID-19 cases.
In early January, the weekly average of new COVID cases in Montgomery County was 1,500 cases per day. This was the largest spike of new cases in the county ever, while being three times greater than the 2nd largest spike exactly a year ago. This statistic most likely played a role in the new mask policy at GA. Additionally, according to the CDC, Montgomery County is currently classified as a low-level area, meaning that the recommended guidelines are as stated: “Wear a mask based on your personal preference, informed by your personal level of risk.”
This guideline is exactly what Germantown Academy decided to implement in their school: wearing a mask is not mandatory, but it is always an option if someone feels unsafe. Emphasizing all aspects of this policy makes students who fear a future outbreak feel safer when near unmasked people. These two statistics prove that it is safe for people to choose not to wear a mask anymore. In fact, low-level areas outnumber medium and high-level areas, and the current trendline of domestic-wide cases points downwards.
Nurse Lori Andress feels confident in this new policy, as she says, “We just took one layer of protection out. If people are showing two or more symptoms of Covid, then they need to stay home and can return if they test negative. Our layers of protection are effective: social distancing and staying home with COVID-like symptoms.” Andress explains, “There are teams of administration members that each have a specific job to look out for the students’ and faculty’s safety. We collaborated with the administration and took into account areas all over our school, as well as the amount of vaccinated individuals.” From a statistical standpoint, Nurse Lori says, “COVID cases have decreased in the area. We had looked at guidelines from the county, CHOP, and the CDC. We also talked to and watched other Inter-Ac schools; one of them went mask optional for two weeks, and the administration decided that it was successful.”
Nurse Andress also talks about another aspect that has come to light, especially in the past week: mental health. She comments, “There were other considerations as well: we evaluated the old policy not just physically, but also mentally. There are side effects from wearing a mask, especially for younger kids such as kindergarteners. Isolation plays a big part in health from an emotional standpoint. We looked at this as well as the spectrum of people’s views on wearing masks, and we settled on a safe policy that will try its best to make all students and faculty safe and in a good mental state.”
When talking to Dr. MacKean, she added, “Sure, asking people to wear a mask is an ask – and I’m grateful it’s been something we’ve been willing to do because it was what allowed us to be safely together on campus in the early phases of this pandemic. So if someone asked me if I wanted to wear a mask every day, I’d say ‘No!’ But it was worth it to be together in the same building. And now that we’ve been able to move to ‘mask optional’ or ‘mask welcome,’ I am grateful to see everyone’s smiles! I will take it for as long as I can have it.”
Editor’s note: Following Spring Break, GA will again implement the mask mandate for one week, and then return to its mask optional policy.