by Kate Evans
Morgan County Schools students, staff and visitors will be required to wear face masks during the week of August 23 since the levels of community COVID-19 transmission are high.
The weekly total of new COVID-19 cases in Morgan County for the week of August 13-19 was 54 cases, according to the Morgan County Health Department’s Friday online post.
For Morgan County with its population of roughly 18,000 people, a low transmission level of new cases is 0-1.99 cases; moderate is 2-9.9 cases; substantial is 10-19.99 and high is 20+ cases.
Due to the recent surge in the Delta variant of COVID-19, students, staff and visitors will wear face masks on buses, in school buildings and in areas where social distancing is limited when new community COVID-19 cases are at a substantial to high level.
The mask mandate came from an August 9 Morgan-Berkeley County Health Department order from Health Officer Dr. Kevin McLaughlin.
Morgan County students return to school on Tuesday, August 24. Staff has been back since Wednesday, August 18.
If requested, Morgan County Schools will provide a mask for students or staff.