Schools in Santa Clara County are lifting COVID-19 safety measures as they welcome students back to campus for the fall term. It’s the first back-to-school season since the beginning of the pandemic without a state-required mask mandate in K-12 classrooms.
Since March, schools have begun rolling back mask mandates, while vaccinations, including booster shots are on the rise for the county’s youth. Nearly 58% of children ages 0-17 are fully vaccinated in Santa Clara County, according to the county’s vaccination dashboard.
Some schools are also individually tracking COVID-19 infections among students and staff. A few of those are Alum Rock Unified School District, East Side Union High School District and Evergreen School District. Several schools are also still encouraging, but not requiring masks on campus.
This all comes as the latest wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the super-infectious BA.5 Omicron variant continues to subside across California.
Click here to see the latest guidance for K-12 schools from the California Department of Public Health.