Update to Masking Policy

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their guidance on masking, as well as other COVID-19 mitigation factors. Under the new guidance, communities are rated as low, medium or high risk based on their local COVID-19 infection rates and available hospital beds. 

The CDC website outlines personal and community-level steps to take for preventing the spread of COVID-19 based on these risk levels. Under this guidance, masks are optional for everyone until a community reaches a high-risk level. At that point, individuals are advised to wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status (including in schools and on buses).

You can read the guidance and search community risk levels on the CDC website. Currently, Hennepin County is considered medium risk and Richfield is considered medium-high risk. Updates are typically released every Thursday.

In RPS, we are reviewing this guidance and Superintendent Unowsky will be making a recommendation to the school board at the March 7 board meeting regarding updates to School Board Policy 548: COVID-19 Face Covering. We anticipate rates will continue to fall in our community and that we will transition from mandatory face covering to optional after our board meeting on March 7.

We will send a follow-up communication on Tuesday, March 8, following the school board meeting. Until a change is made to the policy, face coverings are still required in school and on the bus.