CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — The Cabarrus Board of Education voted on Jan. 10 to make masks mandatory beginning Wednesday, Jan. 13, until at least Jan. 24 when the board can meet again.
The move excludes athletics, extracurricular activities, art performances and self-contained rooms.
Additionally, test-to-stay has been reinstated for the time being. Test-to-stay is a strategy in which a person exposed to COVID-19 gets tested the day they are notified of an exposure, tested again five days later, wears a mask for 10 days following the exposure, and stays home with exceptions only for attending school.
The district was previously masks-optional under a revised metric system. The metrics allow the system to go optional if three of the four fall into yellow or green. If the metrics do not fall into that category, the system will immediately revert back to masks-required.
The decision comes amid a COVID-19 surge in the Carolinas.
More than 2,600 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students and teachers are in quarantine due to COVID-19, district officials announced Monday.
The spread of COVID-19 is causing staffing problems for local school districts with teachers and students back in the classroom. According to CMS, there were 1,029 teacher absences requiring substitutes on Friday. The district was able to fill 400 of those spots.
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