As COVID-19 case numbers continue to decline in Howard County, and vaccination rates remain among the highest in the state, the county Board of Education is holding firm in its stance that a mask-wearing mandate in public schools will remain until the county’s COVID-19 transmission rates are consistently “moderate” or “low” for a 14-day period.
The mask mandate in Howard County Public Schools will automatically lift once the county reaches that threshold, according to a decision made during a Feb. 10 Howard County school board meeting.
“The local transmission rate provides a more concrete data point that the system and the community can rely upon to lift the mask mandate,” Superintendent Michael Martirano wrote in a statement.
The decision is based on the Maryland State Board of Education’s “off-ramp” option three, which allows local superintendents to lift mask requirements if the county has sustained 14 consecutive days of low ( fewer than 10 cases per 100,000) or moderate (between 10 and 49 cases per 100,000) COVID-19 transmission rates, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state board also allows school systems the option to lift the mask mandate if the county where the schools are located has a vaccination rate of at least 80% or if a principal verifies that 80% of staff and students in the school have been fully vaccinated.
The Anne Arundel County Board of Education unanimously voted at its Wednesday night meeting to end its mask mandate beginning Friday. Superintendent George Arlotto said at least 80% of eligible Anne Arundel County residents had been inoculated against COVID-19, so he recommended lifting the requirement.
Howard County continues to lead the state in vaccination rates with 89.4% of its eligible residents fully vaccinated, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker. Transmission rates remain “high” (more than 100 cases per 100,000 in population) in the county, according to the CDC. As of Thursday, there were 114.83 cases per 100,000 residents in Howard County for a 3.74% transmission rate.
Transmission rates in Howard County schools continue to dwindle, with 82 cases reported in the seven-day period ending Feb. 17, according to the HCPSS COVID-19 Dashboard. This number has dropped significantly from a seven-day total of 945 cases reported among students and 108 among staff during the height of the omicron surge in January.
Martirano said the school system will continue to seek the guidance of Howard County Health Officer Maura Rossman in regard to lifting the mask mandate.
“Schools should continue masking policies until community transmission levels decrease to moderate/low levels,” Rossman wrote in a statement. “I am optimistic that our metrics will continue to decline over the next several weeks, allowing for the relaxation of masking policies.”
