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Fulton County to relax mandatory mask restrictions in schools
Fulton County's school superintendent announced that masks will become optional for students, staff, and visitors 30 days after the COVID-19 vaccine is eligible for students 5 years old or older.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - After contentious protests, a metro Atlanta school district will be changing its mask mandate in the coming weeks.
The Fulton County Schools superintendent announced the change in policy during a board meeting Thursday night.
Speaking during his COVID-19 management report, Fulton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney discussed the upcoming plan to lift the mandatory mask rules.
Starting Nov. 1, the superintendent can waive the mask requirement for individual schools, but only if the ratio of COVID-19 cases is less than 1% of enrollment.
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Another major change announced is that masks will become optional for students, staff, and visitors 30 days after the vaccine is eligible for students 5 years old or older.
That's expected to potentially happen in November.
The school district's changes to its mask mandate came after weeks of fights with some area parents, who have protested and even sued the school district over the matter.
Earlier in October, a judge denied 11 Fulton County parents' request for a temporary restraining order against the mask mandate.
As of Friday morning, Georgia health officials report over 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been found in Fulton County since the pandemic's start. Nearly 1,600 people have been confirmed to have died from the virus in the county.
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