Beginning today, Cape Girardeau School District will no longer require universal masking in its school buildings.

The district's school board unanimously approved changes to its COVID-19 re-entry plan Thursday per new guidelines from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).

The district's COVID-19 guidelines before Thursday's meeting required all students, staff and visitors to wear masks while in district buildings.

Sarah Yenesel

Now, masks are optional but highly recommended. Students and staff will be sent home to quarantine only if they receive a positive COVID-19 test result or develop symptoms and do not wish to be tested.

Cape Girardeau schools will continue to follow federal regulations and require students to wear masks while on school buses.

All new guidelines are based on recommendations from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and DHSS.

Superintendent Neil Glass said he was told by Jane Wernsman of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center the health department will also follow the same guidelines.

New guidelines

Upon close contact with a COVID-19 case, fully-vaccinated individuals will have two options:

• They may wear a mask for 14 days in a school setting. If symptoms occur, the individual may choose to take a COVID-19 test or quarantine at home.
• Or, individuals may not wear a mask after close contact if they take a school-provided test on the first and fourth day after exposure. If the individual tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate at home for 10 days.

Unvaccinated individuals will be required to mask for 14 days upon close contact with a positive case. However, they will have two options:

• Those who wish to participate in extracurricular activities may do so if they take three district-provided tests between the first and seventh day after exposure. Negative test results will allow the student to participate in extracurriculars without masks.
• If individuals wish not to be tested, they may still stay in school if masked, but they will not be permitted to participate in extracurricular activities. If symptoms occur, the individual may test or quarantine at home.

Board President Kyle McDonald said the state will provide all needed tests at no charge to Cape Girardeau School District. Staff members designated as testers will be stationed in each school building.

The district will receive federal dollars to pay staff members for some of the work they do outside of a normal school day.

Testing procedures will begin Monday.

Quarantine numbers

Before the new guidelines, Glass said Cape Girardeau School District struggled with quarantines, not high case counts. Of all the district's quarantines, only 0.9% of students contracted the virus, yet many still had to stay home.

The new guidelines will allow more students to stay in school.

"This allows us to quarantine in place in the school setting and not quarantine these kids at home," Glass said.

As of Thursday, Cape Girardeau School District had 11 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and no cases or quarantines among staff.

As of Thursday, 50 students were quarantined. Glass said of those 50 students, 32 were set to return to school Thursday or today, and 18 students would've done the same Monday. With the new guidelines in place, all quarantined individuals may return to school today if they wear a mask.

"Let's get these kids back in school," Glass said.