Henry County

2nd metro Atlanta school district drops mandatory mask policy

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Henry County Schools will go back to making masks optional starting Monday.

Henry County is the second district to announce that it would drop its mandatory mask policy as cases of COVID-19 decline in the state.

On Thursday, Marietta City Schools said they would make masks optional starting next week.

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Henry County has been at Level 4 of their COVID-19 playbook. The district said Friday they will drop back to Level 3 requirements. Masks will not be mandatory, but they will still be “strongly encouraged.”

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The Level 3 protocols also don’t require reduced capacity for outdoor athletic events, performances and meetings.

The district mandated masks in early August after over 1,000 students were quarantined just 12 days into the school year.

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Last week, the district reported just 59 new cases of COVID-19, down from hundreds of reported cases in previous weeks.