Just one month ago, COVID cases in schools were being reported in the hundreds per day. Thank goodness that this is no longer the case, but we are not out of the woods yet and we still need your help to advocate for continued universal masking in our schools. 

Per CDC head Rochele Walensky, "Right now, we still have about 290,000 cases every single day, and our hospitalization rates now are higher than they even were at the peak of our Delta surge."

Further, "99% of US counties still have high levels of coronavirus transmission." Chester County is among them. In the past 7 days, there have been over 1,300 positive COVID cases in Chester County reported to the CCHD and 4 deaths.

"We owe it to our children to make sure that they can safely stay in school. Right now, that includes masking. We've seen outbreaks that have occurred in communities where students were not masked in schools and had to close," Walensky said. "And much of our guidance is based on the amount of community transmission."

Add onto this that vaccines are still unavailable for children under 5 and our immunocompromised community members are still relatively unprotected. We know that everyone is tired of this, but it's our responsibility to keep doing hard things for the good of ourselves and others. We're not advocating masks in schools forever, but we're not at the point where they are no longer needed.

"Are hospitals able to, you know, take care of the car accidents, the heart attacks and strokes that routinely walk in the door because they are not at capacity taking care of patients with Covid-19? And right now across the country, our hospitals are still in crunch mode," Walensky said. "They still have real challenges with capacity."

At its meeting on January 24, 2022, the T/E School Board approved updates to the TESD Health and Safety Plan, saying "There is no change to the District’s indoor masking requirement at this time. Individuals age 2 and older are required to wear a face covering while inside T/E buildings. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to recommend masking while indoors for schools and the Chester County Health Department (CCHD) continues to recommend that the District follow the guidance of the CDC."

However, they are facing extreme pressure to make masks optional. Please, email them today and let them know that now is not yet the time.

What can you do?

• Send an email to gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, and TECovidFeedback@tesd.net telling them that you support continued mask mandates in our schools, regardless of vaccination status. Copy the Chester County Health Department at cchd@chesco.org. [At the end of this update is an email template for your convenience]
• Encourage your friends, family and fellow community members to voice their support of continued masking to the school board and Chester County Health Department.

Thank you for your continued support throughout this. Declaring victory too soon will just set us back farther, so thank you for lending your words and voice to this effort.

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Email template - Please, feel free to customize and personalize.  Note: you must include your name and township for the school board to recognize the email.

To: gusickr@tesd.net, schoolboard@tesd.net, groppec@tesd.net, tecovidfeedback@tesd.net, cchd@chesco.org

Subject: Support of continued mask mandate in TESD schools

Dear Dr. Gusick, Dr. Groppe, TESD School Board, and CCHD,

I am writing to voice my support for a continued mask mandate in all TESD schools, regardless of vaccination status. We are all eager for a return to "normalcy," but declaring victory too soon and making masks optional will erode the progress we have made.

Per CDC head Rochele Walensky, "Right now, we still have about 290,000 cases every single day, and our hospitalization rates now are higher than they even were at the peak of our Delta surge." Chester County is still in a high level of transmission, our local hospitals are still struggling, children under 5 are still unvaccinated, and our immunocompromised are still relatively unprotected.

"We owe it to our children to make sure that they can safely stay in school. Right now, that includes masking. We've seen outbreaks that have occurred in communities where students were not masked in schools and had to close," Walensky said.

We appreciate that the TESD school board confirmed its commitment to universal masking on January 24th, but we also know that you are under pressure. So, please, we implore you to continue to support universal masking in our schools, until medical guidance and data shows that changes can safely be made.

Thank you,

[Your name]
[Your township]