The Diocese of Allentown will make masks recommended, but not required, in its Catholic schools beginning February 8.
Dr. Philip Fromuth, Superintendent of Catholic Education, announced the plan in a letter to parents yesterday (2/2).
“At the beginning of January, our schools saw a high numbers of students and staff testing positive for COVID-19 and needing to isolate, and a number of students and staff needing to quarantine,” Dr. Fromuth wrote. “Thankfully, we have recently seen a significant decline in isolation and quarantine numbers and will be amending our COVID-19 mitigation strategies.”
School leaders will continue to monitor the situation in schools and in communities throughout the five-county Diocese, and they will make changes as needed in the future.
In addition, Dr. Fromuth said, other virus mitigation measures will remain in place in schools, including social distancing, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting, handwashing, isolation and quarantine protocols when needed, and contact tracing.
The main goals of the Diocese’s mitigation plan, Dr. Fromuth has said, are to keep students and staff safe, to keep students in school for in-person instruction, and to keep schools open. He thanked parents, students, and staff for their collective efforts so far this year in helping to accomplish those goals.
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