RIPLEY, W.Va. — The Jackson County Board of Education ended the mandate for masks in Jackson County schools at a meeting Thursday night. Superintendent Blaine Hess told MetroNews affiliate station WMOV in Ravenswood the decision came as the number of Covid cases continued to drop in the county.
“We’ve seen a low number of cases in our schools for some of time and the overall positive cases are dropping in the state and our area, so the board felt it was time to make that adjustment,” explained Hess.
He added other Covid related precautions, like hand sanitizing stations and hand washing practices, remain in place. The decision is immediate and students were “mask optional” when they showed up for school Friday morning. The school system notified parents via phone calls and emails Thursday night following the board’s decision.
The county will continue to report any positive cases to the health department and they continue to retain the power to quarantine anyone infected. Hess did not expect any change in that regard. He also acknowledged this goes from being a mandate to “optional”.
“The board certainly recognizes there may be staff or students who wish to continue wearing a face covering. and certainly that is fine with the board and we’ll continue to have face masks available at our facilities for staff or students,” he explained.
Jackson County follows a number of West Virginia counties who have made a sudden shift in the mask policy in recent days as Covid case numbers fall in the state.