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WINONA, Minn. (KWNO)-The masking policy at Winona Area Public Schools (WAPS) will depend on the level of community COVID-19 transmission under a proposal brought to the school board last week.
The proposal recommends masking for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, when the community transmission rate of COVID is considered low or moderate under CDC guidelines. Masks are required for all when the spread becomes substantial or high.
“If we were to require masking it’s for a period of time,” WAPS Superintendent Dr. Annette Freiheit told board members during a meeting Thursday. “I’ve heard anywhere from two to four weeks because that’s incubation periods for what we would see as transmission.”
The masking requirement would not apply to children under the age of two.
Winona Education Association President Linda Pfeilsticker said she appreciates the plan’s clear-cut guidelines.
“If there’s one thing that I did not want for our teachers and staff it would be to all of the sudden become mask or vaccination police,” said Winona Education Association President Linda Pfeilsticker. “I think that becomes a detractor from what really we’re trying to accomplish for the school year.”
The WAPS board will vote on the plan during the Aug. 19 school board meeting. The 2021-22 school year begins on Sept. 7.
You can view the full draft proposal by clicking here.
