Olmsted County Board of Commissioners highly recommend masks in school settings where children under age 12 are present

The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners, acting as the County’s Community Health Board, passed a resolution Tuesday morning highly recommending masks in school settings where children under age 12 are present. The resolution follows previous Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidance.

Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant and to help students and schools continue in-person learning, the CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age two and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC says masks are a way to minimize COVID-19 transmission in school settings.

The CDC and MDH further recommend those in areas with substantial or high COVID-19 transmission rates wear a mask in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status. According to the CDC, as of Tuesday, September 3, 2021, Olmsted County has a high COVID-19 transmission rate with a total of 380 cases in the last seven days.