Following yesterday's new CDC guidelines, APS announced: ...beginning Tuesday, March 1, APS will be updating some of our COVID-19 mitigation strategies, including: Moving to a mask-optional protocol in all of our buildings for all faculty, staff, students and visitors; Removing the mandatory testing requirement for students participating in athletics and extracurricular activities; and Shifting mandatory testing for employees from twice-weekly to once per week. We wanted to share this information with you as soon as the new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were announced, which is why we are sending a rare Friday message. This decision is based on the CDC's new recommendations and a combination of other factors, including: A significant decrease in COVID-19 community transmission for both Dekalb and Fulton counties, which is expected to continue trending downward; A decrease in positive COVID-19 cases among APS students and staff; The final installation of air purifiers in all APS classrooms effective next week 2/28/2022; Continued COVID-19 Surveillance Testing as an effective mitigation strategy, with roll-out of the APS Test to Stay Program, mandatory twice-weekly testing for staff and for students participating in athletics and extracurricular activities, and optional twice-weekly testing for every student; and Ongoing vaccination events in partnership with the Fulton County Board of Health, C.O.R.E., and Viral Solutions. APS recognizes that some students and staff may prefer to continue wearing a mask while indoors, and we support this decision. As we transition to the mask-optional policy, we encourage members of our community to please respect everyone's right to mask or not to mask as they see fit. We will continue to have masks available for students and staff who may need them. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!