HARTLAND, Mich. – A Hartland elementary school has issued a mask mandate after several students have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Hartland Consolidated Schools superintendent Chuck Hughes announced in a letter Wednesday that all students and staff at Round Elementary School are now required to wear face masks while indoors at least through Sept. 6. The district says it will reassess the mask mandate after then.
Officials say six students at Round Elementary have tested positive for the virus, and 122 students are in quarantine as of Wednesday. It is unclear how many, if any, elementary school teachers are also in quarantine at this time.
Hughes says that the mask mandate has been issued as a “precaution” following the several positive COVID tests to avoid shutting down the entire building. Face masks are still optional at all other schools in the district.
Read the entire letter from Hughes to the Hartland Consolidated Schools community right here.
According to Hughes, the district has recorded a total of 25 COVID cases among students and staff as of Wednesday, including nine cases at Hartland High School. Several dozen students from other schools in the district are also under quarantine.
Related: School mask, vaccine mandates supported in US: AP-NORC poll
Michigan health officials have recommended universal mask wearing for all students and school staff in the fall as COVID-19 cases trend upward once again, in line with guidance from the CDC. The state is not planning to issue a mask mandate at schools, however.
Read more: Michigan schools receive updated COVID guidance for return to in-person learning
Individual school districts have been left to decide if masks should be mandated or not at their schools. Several Michigan districts have announced plans to require masks at their schools.
We’re keeping track of which Michigan school districts and colleges are requiring face masks this fall -- see the list here, or check it out below.