ATLANTA — Remaining six feet apart, limiting capacity, and wearing a face-covering in classrooms have all become a part of life.
But now, many metro Atlanta schools are removing the mask mandate for vaccinated students following guidance recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC, on Thursday, eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.
Georgia has already opened up vaccine appointments to adolescents, with both Pfizer’s and Moderna making it clear that kids 12 and older will receive the exact same two-dose vaccine regimen as adults.
As of Friday, more than a third of Georgians had received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, bringing the state one step closer to being fully vaccinated, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Here's where several local schools stand when it comes to masking requirements:
Cobb County School District
Officials said they would no longer require fully vaccinated people to wear a mask. However, anyone who is vaccinated and still wants to wear one could continue to do so.
Coweta County School District
The district said it strongly encourages people who aren't fully vaccinated to continue wearing a mask. The school will continue to keep other measures in place including social distancing, cleaning and hygiene measures, and contact tracing.
Fulton County School District
According to officials, they would work with state and county public health agencies to determine if changes should be made to their mask policy.
Marietta City Schools
District officials confirmed to 11Alive Anchor Shiba Russell that vaccinated students and staff will not be required to wear masks, effective immediately.
Hall County School District
The district is no longer requiring masks in the classroom for Kindergarten through fifth grade. They said this was in effect before the new CDC guidance. No changes for grades 6 through 12 have been reported.
11Alive has also reached out to other school districts about their policies but has not heard back yet.