California “anticipates” dropping school mask mandate with decision at month’s end

As Covid cases and hospitalizations plummet, California will likely drop its statewide school mask mandate sometime after Feb. 28, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Monday.

Ghaly said the state will drop its general indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people starting Tuesday, but this does not apply to schools. Ghaly added that the state is considering dropping the school mask mandate as well but was not prepared to do so quite yet. Over the next two weeks, state health officials will review student vaccination rates to determine when would be an appropriate time to drop the mandate, then announce the decision Feb. 28.

Individual school districts and local health authorities will still reserve the right to keep their own masking policies after the statewide mandate is dropped, Ghaly said.