Are face coverings still required in Franklin County schools? Changes follow court ruling

Most schools in Franklin County have made face coverings optional following a court ruling that overturns Pennsylvania's mask mandate for schools. 

Students attending Catholic schools in the county are still required to wear masks. 

The transition to optional masking comes as cases and hospitalizations in the county have been on the rise, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. 

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court on Friday upheld a ruling made last month by the Commonwealth Court to invalidate the Pennsylvania Department of Health's masking order for K-12 schools, allowing local authorities to make their own decision. The mandate has been in effect since Sept. 7, nearly all school year. 

Chambersburg Area, Waynesboro Area, Greencastle-Antrim, Tuscarora and Fannett-Metal school districts subsequently announced that masking, while encouraged, would be optional in district buildings, effective immediately. Shippensburg Area School District did not make an announcement online and a representative did not return a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. 

The shift to optional masking is in accordance with districts' health and safety plans, which generally stipulate that masks would be optional unless masking was required by local, state or federal law. 

"With the mask mandate being lifted we're returning to our health and safety plan that was approved at the beginning of the year," Waynesboro Area School District Superintendent Tod Kline said. "Masks will remain optional for kids who want to wear them." 

Students are still required to wear face masks on school buses.

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Chambersburg Area School District also requires masks to be worn inside its Keystone Health clinic at the senior high school. Masking remains required for the district's employees, too. 

Shalom Christian Academy, located south of Chambersburg, also moved to a masks-optional policy, according to Administrator Angie Petersheim. 

Corpus Christi Catholic School in Chambersburg and St. Andrew's Catholic School in Waynesboro will continue to require masking, as will other schools within the Diocese of Harrisburg. 

School leaders in the diocese made the decision after consulting with the reopening committee and medical professionals, according to a statement. 

"We will reevaluate the Covid situation in January.  While we would all prefer a situation where masks were not required, continuing to mask during this time is the prudent course of action," reads the statement, attributed to Daniel Breen, secretary for education and superintendent of Catholic schools. 

Cumberland Valley Christian School in Chambersburg has not required face masks this school year. 

Their school's mask mandate may be lifted, but students could still be required to don face coverings temporarily this school year. 

"Right now we plan to be in person for school for the year," Kline, the Waynesboro superintendent, said. "We are anticipating a spike in numbers after the holidays and if a large percentage of kids in a school test positive we will put masks back on in that building for two weeks." 

Chambersburg and Greencastle have similar rules, too. 

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rising

The number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations reported this month are similar to what was seen last year this time leading to the biggest spike of the pandemic. The number of deaths, however, is not as high as this time in 2020. 

About 342 out of 100,000 people in Franklin County tested positive for the coronavirus in the seven days ending Dec. 9, up from 294.8 in the previous week, according to the Department of Health. Statewide, the incidence rate stood at 321.4. 

Confirmed cases in the county rose from 457 to 530 in the same time period. About 20.7% of PCR tests came back positive, down a few percentage points from the previous week.  

The average number of daily hospitalizations rose from 71.1 to 95.7, and the number of patients on ventilators rose from 8.7 to 13. 

Of the 119 COVID-19 patients hospitalized as of Dec. 14, 18 were in the intensive care unit and 14 were on ventilators, according to the Department of Health. 

Eighteen people have died while infected with COVID-19 since Thanksgiving, with one or two people dying most days. About 70 people died in the same period last year. 

Statewide, infections and hospitalizations have been increasing in children as the delta variant remains the most prominent culprit, and medical providers are concerned about the impending impact of the omicron variant. 

State data shows there have been 103,485 cases of COVID-19 in children 5 to 18 years old during this school year, including 9,214 cases during the first week of December. In children 4 years old and younger, there have been 18,858 cases, including 2,159 during the first week of December.

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Doctors are urging vaccines, boosters, masks, social distancing and household-only gatherings for the holidays, as COVID-19 infections have increased more than 30% in recent weeks. Another surge is expected after Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations. 

Nearly 41% of people living in Franklin County were fully vaccinated as of Dec. 14, according to the Department of Health. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers someone fully vaccinated two weeks after they've been given a single-dose shot (Johnson & Johnson) or a second shot (either Pfizer or Moderna).

Every person age 5 and older is eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinations are available for free at pharmacies and doctor's offices. 

Superintendent encourages respect

Whether or not to wear face masks remains a polarizing aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In Greencastle-Antrim School District, Superintendent Lura Hanks urged people to show understanding towards others, whether they wear a mask or not. 

"This is a great opportunity to talk with your child(ren) about recognizing the diverse perspectives and circumstances within our community," she wrote. "Diversity of thought is a strength in our district, and we ask that all students and staff respect the decisions of each individual. We want to be considerate of personal beliefs and spacing between each other.

John Irwin, a Gannett reporter based at the Waynesboro Record Herald, contributed to this report. 

Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.