PRESS RELEASE
Date: February 1, 2021
Upshur County Schools Mask Mandate Changes with WVDHHR County Alert System Designation
BUCKHANNON-At 10:00 a.m. on February 1, 2022, Upshur County’s status on the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) County Alert System changed to the Gold level. Under the Green, Yellow, or Gold levels, there is no mask mandate within schools.
The change is effective on February 2, 2022 and will remain in effect for as long as the county is at a Gold, Yellow, or Green level. However, Upshur County administrators strongly encourage the continued use of masks while active case counts remain high in the county.
There are benefits to wearing a face covering. Upshur County Schools will continue to consider mask usage and vaccination status when making decisions about isolation and quarantine. If a student or adult is not fully vaccinated or not properly wearing a face covering while in contact with the positive individual, that student or adult will have to quarantine.
Face coverings are still required while on school buses, regardless of the County Alert System color status. Schools bus operations are still considered public transit by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose order requiring masks is still in place.
Vaccination remains the single most effective way of controlling the pandemic, and Upshur County Schools encourages all families to strongly consider vaccination if they have not already done so.
We will continue to monitor the WVDHHR County Alert System map and ask that our families do so as well. If the color designation goes back to Orange or Red, masks will again be required.