(Reuters) -California, Oregon and Washington will stop requiring masks in schools after March 11, but masks will remain required in higher-risk settings such as healthcare facilities, the governors said in a joint statement on Monday.
The announcement comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday eased guidelines for indoor masking across most of the nation. The CDC’s latest school guidance recommends masking only in areas of high COVID-19 transmission, instead of universal masking.
“As has been made clear time and again over the last two years, Covid-19 does not stop at state borders or county lines,” Governor Kate Brown of Oregon said in the joint statement. “Together, as we continue to recover from the Omicron surge, we will build resiliency and prepare for the next variant and the next pandemic.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Sunday that her state will end its mask mandate for schools and childcare facilities on Wednesday, citing a steep drop in COVID-19 cases.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
