Oconee County Schools Not Changing Protocols For Reopening

Oconee County Schools will begin classes on Wednesday without making any changes in its COVID-19 protocols despite guidance issued last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at odds with those plans.

The CDC on July 27 issued new recommendations calling for universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.

The CDC also added a recommendation that fully vaccinated people should wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission of the disease.

At the time of the new guidance, Oconee County was labeled as having high transmission, and the county continues to be labeled as high transmission for the July 26 to Aug. 1 period.

Dallas LeDuff, director of Student Services for Oconee County Schools, announced on July 19 that masks and COVID-19 vaccinations are not required for employees or students.

Anisa Sullivan Jimenez, director of Communications for Oconee County Schools, said on Monday that the protocols outlined by LeDuff and on the school web site remain unchanged.

For more on this story, please go to Oconee County Observations.