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Staff and visitors of Henrico County Public Schools are no longer required to wear face masks inside school buildings, a school division spokeswoman announced to staff and families on Friday afternoon.
The announcement came as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for communities where COVID-19 is easing up. Recommendations for mask wearing are now more focused on how hospitals are affected by COVID-19 patients.
In counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals, healthy people can stop wearing masks, the CDC said.
Henrico is in the "medium" category as of Friday.
The new rules for HCPS go into effect Monday, and mirror changes to rules made by the county for its public government buildings including libraries, rec centers and government offices.
In the message to staff and families, a HCPS spokeswoman said the change is based on the downward trend of COVID-19 cases in Henrico County. Virginia employees are still required to wear masks by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, but the message from HCPS said the agency is expected to repeal the mandate soon.
