MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The Manitowoc Public School District (MPSD) announced that face coverings in district buildings will be optional for visitors, students, staff, and families effective at the end of the school day Friday, February 18.
The school district said declines in COVID-19 cases and reduced student and staff absences prompted the change in policy.
In early January, MPSD said it delayed plans to lift its indoor face coverings requirements due to a spike of COVID-19 cases at that time.
"While Manitowoc County data remains elevated, the numbers of both cases and hospitalizations have been decreasing steadily," the district said in a statement.
Face coverings will continue to be required on buses, the school district says, due to a federal mandate for public transportation currently in effect until March 18. Four-year-old kindergarten students who attend school at the school district's community sites must follow those buildings’ protocols.
MPSD continues to offer free COVID-19 testing for all staff, students, and family members in the same household at a clinic site at 1010 Huron Street in Manitowoc, and the school district says masks are required for all at the clinic.
The district also offers families online and hybrid in-person and online instructional opportunities through the district's new K-12 McKinley Academy virtual charter school which is now accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year.
