What parents think of Columbia County dropping mask rule

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Tuesday night, the Columbia County School System announced it is taking away its mask mandate starting Wednesday.

Leaders say they’re making the move because COVID cases are decreasing. Last week’s reported cases are the lowest they’ve seen all year.

Check out the green line on the graph above. COVID cases in Columbia County were climbing until the end of August, when the district put a mask mandate into place. That’s when cases started falling.

Social media is lighting up. More than 150 people have commented on our post so far. Parents are divided about this.

“It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” said Ashley Postma, a Columbia County parent.

Postma doesn’t understand why the district is removing its mask mandate. All three of her kids tested positive for coronavirus a few weeks into the school year. Around that time, the district mandated masks because of a rise in cases.

“I don’t understand it. They said that the numbers have gone down, and it seems obvious to me that the numbers have gone down because they mandated masks and they put the safety of their students first,” she said.

In a letter sent to parents, the school district says it is removing the mandate because of a drop in positive cases.

You can see that drop here:

The numbers peaked back in late August with more than 500 positive student cases. That’s the same week the district mandated masks. Since then, the numbers have dropped every week. And now the district is reporting fewer than 100 positive students.

With these case counts, some parents agree it’s time to remove the mandate, but others are concerned this will cause the numbers to go back up.

“I can’t fathom why they’ve decided to go back on it, when it’s clearly working,” Postma said.

Masks will be optional starting Wednesday. The district says it will continue to monitor cases and be prepared to make changes if necessary.

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