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Masks optional for next Bay County school year? Officials say likely. Tony Mixon, The News Herald
PANAMA CITY Though the state told schools on Wednesday to make mask wearing optional for the next school year, Bay County officials had already been planning such a move. We re feeling very strongly that s what is going to happen everywhere, and meeting with staff we think the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) will probably come up with some new guidelines, too, Superintendent Bill Husfelt said. We re going to take our recommendation to the board in May about whatever changes will be implemented and we feel very confident the board s going to be supportive of that.
Husfelt said the school board decided in March 2020 to follow the advice of medical professionals when it came to COVID-19. He said the only time local officials deviated was when they changed the distance requirement for quarantine from 6 feet to 3 feet.
Husfelt said the CDC came out with similar guidelines later.
The mask mandate was a hot topic for Bay County residents who didn t want their children to be forced to wear masks. Some said it would be impossible to police and others were concerned about how it would be enforced.
School Board Chairman Steve Moss said the decision will be driven by data, which appears to making masks optional for next school year.