Washington D.C., Jul 14, 2021 / 11:00 am
The Archdiocese of St. Louis announced Monday that face masks will be optional at its Catholic schools this fall.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its COVID-19 mitigation recommendations for schools this month, amid a surge in virus cases in Missouri.
In a statement on Monday, the Archdiocese of St. Louis said that the wearing of masks in its Catholic schools would be “optional and at the discretion of each individual family,” beginning in the upcoming academic year. The archdiocese qualified that it could update its standards if new information emerged.
“The archdiocese urges all school families, students, leadership, faculties and staffs to be thoughtful of their own health—and that of their community—in all of their decisions, especially regarding the wearing of masks and monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms,” the statement said.