New COVID-19 guidelines for schools released

Masks can go, but the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is staying in place at schools across the state, the Washington State Department of Health announced on March 9.

DOH released new guidelines for schools as the mask mandate lifts on March 12, and COVID-19 cases subside across the state.

“In-person education and care are valuable to social and emotional health,” Secretary of Health Umair Shah said in a press release. “This new guidance focuses on ways to meet critical state public health requirements while also focusing on keeping kids in school and childcare.”

Western Washington University will continue requiring masks indoors through April 11, two weeks into the spring academic quarter.

"The decision to continue the mask mandate until April 11 will allow us to monitor health impacts of students and employees returning from Spring Break and give the campus community more time to adjust to the new mask protocol as we transition from a pandemic to an endemic situation," president Sabah Randhawa said in a letter to students.

Students can still receive free testing on campus and are asked to notify the university if they test positive with an at-home or at an off-campus testing facility.

Western has had 26 cases in the week of Feb. 28 to March 6. More than 1,000 students and staff have tested positive since the start of the winter quarter with a majority occurring in January.