Masks back on in Providence schools

PROVIDENCE – A little more than a month after taking them off, masks are going back on in Providence public schools.

The Providence Public School District announced Monday that on Tuesday it will reinstate its mask mandate inside all schools, on district transportation such as buses and indoors at district-sponsored events. PPSD said it is requiring masks again after dropping the mandate on April 11 because the average daily number of COVID-19 cases among students and district staff has risen sharply from being about 10 cases per day in March and early April to 60 cases per day last week.

Additionally, Providence County was recently classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as being “high risk” for community spread, PPSD said. Plus, Providence School Superintendent Javier Montañez back in April said in a statement stressing to the PPSD community that masks could be put back on if there’s a spike in cases in the district.

Montañez on Monday said in a statement the masking will help the district manage the new surge to keep more students in the classroom. The district said it will continue to track the COVID-19 data and reevaluate the mask requirement on a consistent basis moving forward.

- Advertisement -

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.