School committee keeps mask requirement as COVID cases rise

The Blackstone‑Millville Regional School Committee voted to continue requiring masks in district buildings through January after health staff reported a surge in COVID‑19 cases.

The committee chair said the panel would "simply continue that masks are mandated if people are in the building," and that the district would revisit the policy monthly following the state commissioner’s timetable through Feb. 28. Nurse leader Karen Young reported elevated case counts, saying the district saw 197 current cases and 418 cases in January to date, with school‑level counts concentrated at the high school and middle school.

Young summarized testing and return‑to‑school rules and told the committee that PCR testing remains the preferred option for symptomatic unvaccinated close contacts but that, when PCR is unavailable, at‑home rapid antigen tests will be accepted for positives, close contacts and symptomatic individuals. "The rapid test including the at home are now accepted for positives, close contacts and symptomatic," she said.

Officials also reviewed vaccination percentages by age group and by school; district vaccination rates reported in the meeting materials indicated lower rates in some elementary and Millville schools compared with the district average. Committee members thanked staff for managing testing and communications and said the district would continue to monitor cases and return to the issue at its next monthly meeting.

Next steps: the committee will review any new guidance after the governor’s budget and public‑health updates, and the mask policy will be revisited at the committee’s next scheduled meeting.