The Johnson County Health Department and Indiana Department of Health issued new mask and quarantine guidance Wednesday that will have implications for local schools.
On Wednesday morning, the Johnson County Health Department encouraged schools to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Indiana Department of Health, advising a mask requirement for all students and staff members.
Previously, the county health department advised schools to enact a mask mandate when more than 2% of students were out of school at one time due to testing positive for COVID-19. Clark-Pleasant, Center Grove and Franklin schools decided to adopt the guidance, while Greenwood schools made masking mandatory at all schools due to elevated COVID-19 cases in Johnson County. Indian Creek schools adopted a 4% threshold while Edinburgh schools decided to keep masks optional at all schools.
The 2% threshold was not based on any scientific studies, but served as more of a compromise between having masks optional at all schools and having masks mandated at all schools, said Jefferson Qualls, the county’s health officer.
“The 2% guidance was improvised upon a collaboration with school superintendents, nurses and public health (professionals),” Qualls said. “There was a desire to return as many students to school mask optional as we could.”
With the more contagious Delta variant, Qualls made the decision to recommend masks be worn at all schools, regardless of the number of positive cases among the student body.
“It’s just so much more transmissible what we’re dealing with here,” Qualls said. “We’ll see if masks make a difference. Some schools with masks are doing much better, some are not doing any better. We’ve worked with schools closely, and I think they’ll most likely follow these recommendations.”
Mask mandates have remained a controversial topic at school board meetings, where people have spoken for and against possible mandates. On Wednesday afternoon, the Indiana Department of Health released guidance allowing people to avoid quarantine if they are identified as close contacts in situations where everyone is wearing a mask. That guidance might make a universal mask mandate more appealing to schools, Qualls said.
Students will still have to monitor for symptoms, including twice-daily temperature checks, if they are a close contact, he said.
Greenwood schools, which has a universal mask mandate, will allow students identified as close contacts to skip quarantine, Superintendent Terry Terhune said.
Indian Creek schools will keep its 4% threshold, which it adopted Tuesday, and will allow students at Indian Creek Middle School to avoid a quarantine if they are identified as a close contact, Superintendent Tim Edsell said.
Indian Creek Middle School is the only school in the district with a mask mandate.
Edinburgh schools, which has reported 13 COVID-19 cases to the Indiana Department of Health, will continue with a mask-optional policy, Superintendent Ronald Ross said in an email.
“Fortunately, our positivity rate is very low,” Ross said. “Our current strategy is effectively mitigating the spread of the virus. At this time, we do not believe a change in our current COVID-19 protocols is necessary.”
Center Grove, Franklin, Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood schools had not made changes to their masking policies by press time.
Despite potential public backlash, the county health department is advising schools to require masks in order to protect students, said Betsy Swearingen, director of the county’s health department.
“We’re not in the business of making people happy,” Swearingen said. “We’re in the business of keeping people safe.”
At a glance
CDC mask guidance
The CDC recommends indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors at schools at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, regardless of vaccination status.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
