KINGWOOD, W.Va. — Preston County students will have to wear a face mask in the schools through October as education officials look to manage protocols.
Facial coverings are required in all buildings and on schools buses through Oct. 31. Preston County Schools officials will make decisions on mask usage by referencing data from the state Department of Health and Human Resources. According to Superintendent Stephen Wotring, following the department’s map will allow all community members access to the same data.
Preston County has one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in West Virginia. Preston County Health Department V.J Davis told MetroNews affiliate WAJR-AM he is hopeful cases will peak soon.
The school district’s plan has three phases.
“In November, if we have five consecutive days where we’re gold or below yellow or green, then masks will become optional,” Wotring said. “If we return to red for three days or more, we’ll go back to a mask mandate.
“When we get to December, hopefully, the numbers will really come down by then, we’re going to a percentage basis school by school,” Wotring added.
Beginning in December, administrators will collect data for the county’s 10 schools and the district’s administration building to set protocol policy. The method, according to Wotring, will allow officials to take actions targeted toward sites of potential outbreaks.
“We just have to get our own system down to where we can keep those numbers tracking and be able to manage the sheer amount of data we’ll have to track,” he said.
Preston County Schools went remote for two weeks last month because of a spike in coronavirus cases.