Salem Schools Family Health Forum To Discuss Coronavirus Actions

SALEM, MA — Salem school families with questions about the district's recent coronavirus mask and vaccine mandates heading into the new school year are invited to a public health webinar Tuesday night.

The forum will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. where school and health officials will share the latest updates on virus metrics in the community and plans to mitigate virus spread at the start of the school year.

Superintendent of Schools Steve Zrike, Salem Public Schools Pediatrician Dr. Clovene Campbell, Salem School Committee member and Salem State Profession Dr. Kristin Pangallo, Salem Schools Director of Nursing and Health Dr. Charlene Moske, Interim Director of Building and Grounds Zissis Alepakis and Chief of Opportunity and Response Chelsea Banks will speak and be available for questions.

The webinar can be accessed here with a passcode of THdL4Y.

Questions can be submitted in advance here.

Over the past two weeks, the Salem Schools Committee has unanimously adopted Zrike's recommendation for an indoor mask mandate for all Salem Public Schools buildings to start the school year, a vaccine mandate that requires all school staff to either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be tested twice weekly, as well as a vaccine-or-mask mandate that requires all students in "high-respiration" extracurricular activities — such as sports., band or chorus — to either be vaccinated or wear a mask when participating in those activities both indoors and outdoors and provide written documentation they have consulted with a health care provider about the vaccine.

"I get the anxiety," Zrike said during his Facebook Live session on Friday. "I get the concern. As a parent of children going back to public schools as well, I hear the concern. I think we've taken a lot of important steps.

"I am going to rely on people who know a lot more about this than I do to guide us throughout this. And we're going to make adjustments along the way. We'll reduce some of our protocols if conditions get better. We'll get tighter and stricter if we see things continue to get worse even up to the start of the school year."

Zrike said a FAQ (frequently asked questions) sheet will also be released to families this week.

"The key is that we need kids in school every day, full day, (for the) full year, for 180 days, for the length of the school day, we need our kids in school. We want them to have access to many of the things they missed out on last year.

"But we won't do that at the expense of health and wellness."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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