Masks no longer required in Botetourt County Public Schools

BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - Botetourt County Public Schools will be mask-optional in school for students starting Wednesday, February 9, according to the county.

This comes after the Virginia Supreme Court rejected a challenge from the city of Chesapeake to Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order #2, designed to allow parents to determine whether their children wear masks in schools.

The full statement from Botetourt County Public Schools can be read below:

“In light of this clarification and declining positive cases of COVID-19 in our community, it is the will of the Botetourt County School Board to implement Executive Order No. 2, allowing parents to determine whether their child wears a mask while at school, effective Wednesday, February 9, 2022. Wearing masks while indoors, though no longer required, is still encouraged as an effective component of our layered mitigation strategies. Documents that reflect these changes will be available on our COVID Information website. This decision does not apply to faculty & staff, and masks will still be required for all employees while inside all K-12 school buildings. Federal mandate still requires students to wear masks while accessing transportation provided by the division, regardless of vaccination status or masking choice while at school. Additionally, Botetourt County Public Schools will continue to permit those self-identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 positive individual to return to school on day 6 if they remain symptom-free during days 1-5 of the quarantine period, as long as the individual can consistently and correctly wear a mask through day 10 when they return to school. Those who cannot consistently or correctly wear a mask for any reason will be required to stay at home for the full 10 days following an exposure.”