Tuscaloosa City Schools To Reinstate Mask Requirement On Jan. 18

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa City Schools has announced it will reinstate its mask requirement for on-campus learning on Jan. 18.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

The news comes after the current two-week student positive rate for the school system hit 2.14%, which is above the 1% threshold previously approved by the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education.

TCS also pointed out that while the mandate will not go into full effect until next week, it will be recommended that students and employees wear face coverings.

"The school system will review the mask mandate again on January 28, 2022," TCS said in a press release on Thursday. "If the positive rate is at 1% or below, we will return to masks being optional. However, if the percentage is above 1%, we will remain as masks required."

The decision also follows a surge in hospitalizations for DCH Health System, which reported 91 total COVID-19 inpatients on Wednesday.

While city schools are making a hard pivot back toward requiring masks, the much-larger Tuscaloosa County School System does not require face coverings for its roughly 19,000 students.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com