SALEM — Public schools will fully reopen in-person this fall, and masks will remain the gold standard for protecting students and staff. But not everybody is on board.
The School Committee unanimously backed a proposal from Superintendent Steve Zrike to reopen school with requirements for "universal masks" in place to begin the year. The proposal included a continuation of weekly surveillance testing and rapid testing for those who are in contact with a positive case. It comes as a more contagious variant of the disease ravages portions of the country with lower vaccination rates.
The conversation played out hours after city officials announced the possibility of a mask ban returning for all Salem businesses and government buildings, and 27 hours in advance of the Board of Health discussing that proposal. It also happened with less than a month left to summer vacation, with schools due to return for most students on Aug. 31, before Labor Day.
Masks and vaccinations remain hotly contested elements of the COVID-19 pandemic across the country, particularly as a more contagious variant starts breaking through and infecting those who have been vaccinated, and cooling temperatures start to force crowds indoors in just a couple of months. Still, officials emphasize that vaccines are the best way back to normal, and masks provide extra coverage toward that goal.
"We think it's essential that all students and staff in all grades wear masks, that they're well-fitting masks, that they're appropriately used," said Zrike during his presentation late Monday afternoon. "Our kids stepped up last year. We had very few issues arise with masks. We know people, a lot of the adults... nobody likes wearing masks, right? But if that's what is going to keep our kids in school and what's going to minimize disruption, that to me doesn't disrupt learning like being out of school."
Most parents who spoke at the meeting were supportive of the proposal, but a couple spoke against it. That included one parent who suggested the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have "flip-flopped" on vaccine and mask effectiveness, and that requiring masks without evidence of their benefits constitutes a human rights violation and fraud on the part of city and school leaders.
Kristin Pangallo, a School Committee member who emphatically supports masks and vaccines, urged those who are against them to talk to their doctors, as questioning the safety of the vaccine is perfectly valid when the right sources are being asked.
"I can guarantee you that masks don't cause harm to our students," Pangallo said. "That's absolutely not true. I want everyone to know that, and I can't let that stand — just as somebody whose children need masks to keep them safe."
Mayor Kim Driscoll responded by leaning on data showing to what level Salem's younger populations are vaccinated. For example, 77% of those eligible throughout the city have received at least one dose. But only 55% of those between ages 12 and 15 have gotten their first shot, and even less of those between ages 16 and 19 — 43% — have done so.
"We're going to continue to incentivize people to get vaccinated," Driscoll said. "Only half of our young people currently are vaccinated, and that isn't a good feeling going into both a high tourism season and return to school with this delta variant."
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
