Governor clarifies school masking recommendation

A scene along Route 12 in Woodstock, Vt. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Vermont’s governor has clarified recent public health guidance for schools regarding masking. 

On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott said he wanted to “clear up some misinformation” around the state's new guidance, and he emphasized that masks are included.

“When schools open, we’re asking all students, all teachers, and all school employees to wear masks for the first two to three weeks of school,” Scott said at a press conference. “They should stay required for all those not yet eligible for the vaccine; that means kids under 12.” 

The state recommends lifting this masking requirement only when 80% of a school’s eligible population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The mask rule should remain in place for unvaccinated people, the governor added, and federal law requires everyone to wear a mask when riding a school bus. 

The state’s top recommendation is for more people to get vaccinated, and the state continues to announce a number of school-based vaccination clinics throughout Vermont. To date, over 85% of vaccine-eligible Vermonters have received their first dose, and the state has the lowest COVID hospitalization rate in the country.

Scott said anyone who has concerns about the vaccine should “talk to a trusted medical professional, not Facebook.” 

“I’m confident we can keep moving forward, but we need everyone pulling in the same direction, and we’re not going to do it blindly,” Scott said. “We’ve always watched the data, and we’ve done what’s best for Vermonters.”

Cases are growing nationally and regionally, however the rate of growth has been steadily declining in the past three weeks, according to Michael Pieciak, Vermont’s commissioner of financial regulation, who tracks COVID data for the state. He said this hopeful trend is occurring in Vermont as well. Though Vermont’s cases climbed by 41% this week, the case growth was about half of what it was last week, Pieciak noted. 

“We anticipate that cases will continue to slow and eventually decrease in the coming weeks,” he said.

— Gareth Henderson