TOOELE, Utah, Sept. 7, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Tooele County Council on Tuesday night voted against a public health order that would have required masks in schools that meet certain case thresholds.
The vote was 3-2, and the resolution is to take effect immediately.
Tooele County Health Department said in a news release Sept. 2 that schools with outbreaks of COVID-19 that meet the case threshold outlined in Senate Bill 107 would be required to have all students and staff wear masks for 30 days.
“A school with 1,500 or more students meets the case threshold if at least 2% of the school’s students test positive for COVID-19. A school with fewer than 1,500 students meets the case threshold if 30 or more of the school’s students test positive for COVID-19,” the news release said.
For purposes of determining whether a school has reached the school’s case threshold, a student is included in positive cases for the school if the student, within the preceding 14 days, attended at least some in-person instruction at the school, and tested positive for COVID-19.
The news release added: “Children under the age of 12 are not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time, that is why it is so important to add additional layers of protection. Wearing a face mask can significantly decrease the chance a person or child will spread the virus to others or be infected by the virus. Wearing face masks and getting vaccinated reduces the spread of COVID-19 and is an added layer of protection for children in schools during an outbreak. Masking is an additional response that is being used to help slow the spread of infection and protect the community.”
For more information about the public health order, click here.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
