BUFORD, Ga. — Buford City Schools is no longer requiring students to wear masks on its buses and instead says face coverings are now "strongly encouraged."
According to the schools' website, Buford City Schools made adjustments to its current COVID guidelines that went into effect Monday, Feb. 21.
Among those changes include masks being optional on buses.
"Masks will be optional on buses, and there will be no contact tracing on buses," the schools' website states.
However, there is still a federal mask mandate in place on public transportation including school buses. According to the federal mandate, bus drivers and students are required to wear masks as defined by the Order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are limited exemptions including children under the age of 2, persons with disabilities who cannot wear a mask, and persons who cannot safely wear a mask due to a risk to workplace health, safety or job duty.
Buford City Schools also moved to a color-coded tiered system to identify the level of community transmission and mitigation at each school.
Below is a breakdown of what each color represents:
- Green: Less than 1% of the school's population is positive for COVID. No contact tracing.
- Yellow: Between 1% and 4% of the school's population is positive for COVID. Return to contract tracing protocols including its alternative quarantine policy.
- Red: 5% or more of the school's population is positive for COVID. Protocols will be in place such as contact tracing, social distancing spacing, lunch in classrooms, etc.
The breakdown further states while in the "green phase" Buford City Schools will monitor confirmed COVID lab-positive students only. If a student was exposed at home, he or she can return to school if symptom-free but is also expected to wear a mask.
The COVID guidelines changes come after the schools have seen a downward trend in COVID cases since after winter break. The schools' COVID numbers on Friday will determine the tier for each school for the following week, according to the schools' website.
11Alive has reached out to Buford City Schools to ask about the updated mask policy in regards to the CDC's order and the federal mandate.
