By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. — On Monday, DeKalb County Superintendent of Education Dr. Jason Barnett announced that effective April 12, the DeKalb School System will not require masks for students or staff.
Barnett’s statement arrives as the end of Alabama’s statewide mask mandate approaches on Friday. Governor Kay Ivey (R-Ala.) has stated she has no intention of continuing the mask order, though some municipalities, including the City of Birmingham, have opted to keep masks mandatory in public places.
“For over a year now, the COVID-19 public health crisis has impacted public education in ways unseen in my lifetime,” said Barnett. “During this pandemic and public health crisis, we have worked together with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC,) Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), and the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) to follow their public health guidance to the best of our ability so that we can ensure the well-being of our students, faculty, and community.”
“As Governor Ivey intends to remove the mask requirement from the public health order on April 9, 2021, the wearing of masks will no longer be required for students or staff effective April 12, 2021, but will become a personal decision as to whether the individual feels compelled to utilize a mask for personal safety,” Barnett continued. “We will, of course, support anyone who chooses to utilize a mask for personal protection.”
“This decision was made over the course of the past few months as we have seen a steady decline and an almost non-existent positive rate in our schools for the past several weeks,” Barnett concluded. “As we have been for the past year, we will be responsive to the data and will make adjustments as needed. These adjustments may include the requirement of masks in certain situations if it is determined to be warranted or an increase in cases is observed, but as of April 12, 2021, the requirement for a mask in all DeKalb County Schools will expire.”
For more information and current COVID-19 case statistics, please visit alabamapublichealth.gov.