Parley’s Park Elementary School is extending its school-wide mask mandate.
Parley’s Park students will have to keep wearing masks through Monday the 29, following a surge in COVID-19 cases late last month.
An update sent to parents Friday said the school’s following county law to enforce mask-wearing after passing a 2% COVID-19 positivity rate. The letter says the Summit County Health Department may visit the school to make sure the mandate’s being enforced.
While county officials say the school is in compliance now, school administrators weren’t enforcing the mandate at first. During the first week of the mandate, students were instructed to follow their parents’ directions related to face coverings.
Late that first week, school nurse Shannon Corcoran told KPCW it still wasn’t being enforced. She counted an estimated quarter of students and some staff members weren’t masking at school.
County health officers went to the school to enforce the mandate the following Monday, November 8. The health department has since stated the school is in full compliance, meaning everyone’s wearing masks at school and in school activities.
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said her office is working to uncover why the mandate wasn’t enforced from the outset.
For the remainder of the mask mandate, Parley’s Park students have the option to participate in school from home. They can also be exempted with a mask exemption from a “qualified medical professional.”
