Summit County Health Director Dr. Phil Bondurant issued a public health order on Saturday, outlining metrics for requiring face coverings in Summit County elementary schools. Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines.
Under the order, face coverings would be required if any individual elementary school campus reaches a 2% 14-day COVID-19 positivity rate among the total number of students, staff and faculty. The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, August 25th and will be reviewed after 30 days, per state law..
The order will not apply to middle or high schools. Each of the county’s seven elementary schools will be evaluated as separate campuses. The county says the public health order was created as a way to keep children in classrooms and prevent significant outbreaks of COVID-19.
The order comes after the Summit County Council, the County Manager, and the County Health Director consulted with the State Board of Education over the past week to determine legal power and authority. The Summit County Attorney's Office approved the order and certified that it is a lawful and legally enforceable document.
As school resumes, parents and students of all ages are strongly encouraged to follow CDC and state guidelines regarding mask usage, proper sanitization practices and social interactions both in and out of school. These can be found here.
The complete order can be viewed here.
