DeKalb County School drops mask mandate citing low COVID-19 transmission rates

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County Schools will lift its mask mandate starting Wednesday, the district said in a letter to parents.

DeKalb had been one of the last holdouts to lifting mask mandates as cases of COVID-19 continue to plummet in Georgia.

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Starting March 2, mask-wearing will be strongly encouraged but not required.

The district said that they used the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels tool to determine that the transmission rate is low in DeKalb County.

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The district said that officials will continue to report COVID-19 cases and exposures, implement mitigation strategies and offer surveillance testing in schools and central offices.

People who have symptoms, test positive or are exposed to someone with the virus should continue to follow district-wide protocols and constantly and correctly wear masks to “protect others as well as themselves.”

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Gwinnett County Public Schools dropped their mandate on Monday and Atlanta Public Schools and Decatur City Schools dropped their masks mandates on Tuesday.

Clayton County remains the last metro Atlanta county to keep their mask mandate in place, citing low vaccination rates.

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