The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District no longer requires masks at its schools. The new policy started Monday.
Previously, mask mandates could go into effect if schools were at “medium risk,” meaning they had outbreaks or an increase in community spread. In a letter to families on Friday, Superintendent Randy Trani said masking would be strongly urged in those cases, but no longer required.
Trani said recent case numbers suggested the borough’s omicron wave may be receding.
“Our hospitals are not overburdened in the Mat-Su because of this, everybody has had a chance to be vaccinated who wants to, it’s tracking the same way as it appears to have done in other places,” he said. “Those were some of the factors that helped us make the decision to go forward with our plan now.”
Trani said another factor was the lack of community support for mask mandates. He said a recent survey by the district found that 54% of teachers and families wanted masking at medium risk schools to be optional.
Thirty-four of the district’s schools are currently at medium risk, and 13 are at low risk.
Masks are still required for those who’ve tested positive for COVID and are returning to school after five days of isolation. Trani said the district could reinstate stricter mitigation measures if future variants warrant it.
