BALTIMORE — Beginning February 14, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will allow mask wearing to be optional.
The new policy applies to even those who are not vaccinated.
Independent Catholic schools such as Calvert Hall College High School, St. Frances Academy and Notre Dame Preparatory School will make their own masking policies for their school communities.
Previously the Archdiocese required masks to be worn inside all Catholic schools. Masks are still required when aboard public and private school buses or vans.
Catholic schools will continue providing rapid antigen testing and surveillance testing to help prevent future potential outbreaks.
On Thursday Governor Larry Hogan called on the Maryland State Board of Education to lift its school masking policy.
MORE: Gov. Hogan calls on Maryland Board of Education to lift school mask mandates
Currently there are only three ways local school districts can lift the mandates themselves.
One is if 80 percent of a county's population is fully vaccinated, as defined and reported by the Maryland Department of Health.
Exception two is if a particular school verifies that 80 percent of their staff and students have been fully vaccinated.
The third is in the event the CDC reports a county with 14 consecutive days of moderate or low transmission rates of COVID-19 cases.
