Due to the fact that the Omicron variant of Covid is less severe than other strains, schools in the Mat-Su Borough will no longer mandate that students and staff wear masks throughout the day when the virus is spreading.

A Jan. 28 letter from Superintendent Randy Trani to area families, he noted that schools are mask optional as of Jan. 31.

While Omicron is more transmissible than previous variants, and case counts in the Mat-Su are high, Trani said Omicron may represent a step toward “more normalcy for our district.”

“Omicron is simultaneously less severe for most people who catch the disease despite being more transmissible,” he said. “A more transmissible variant that is less serious has the potential to increase the general population’s immune response to future infections.”

Trani said the District’s Health Advisory Team (HAT), in consultation with Mat-Su Public Health has monitored COVID cases in the school district on a daily basis. Based on their input the district has responded differently to Covid over time.

Additionally, the letter noted that on Jan. 24, the World Health Organization announced that they anticipated an end to the emergency phase of the pandemic and that the Omicron variant “offers a plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.”

“Further, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, offered this week that while new variants are likely to emerge, the combination of vaccination, new drug therapies, testing, and masks during surges could lead us into a time where COVID, particularly the Omicron variant, is ‘essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with,’” Trani observed.

Based on these and other factors, including hospital capacity, school district data about the sources of current infection, rate of spread in different environments, lack of community support for ongoing mask requirements and the availability of vaccines for all students and staff, the MSBSD will be “changing our mitigation strategy,” Trani said.

Previously, Mat-Su schools were required to mandate masks once a school was deemed to be in the “yellow” zone, in which Covid transmissions were spreading throughout the building. Now masks will only be “strongly” encouraged but not required when a school enters the yellow zone.

Students and adults who have tested positive for Covid will still be required to stay home for five days, and can only return if they wear a mask until after the 10^th day following infection.

“As always, the HAT team will continue to monitor the COVID environment and respond accordingly,” Trani’s letter concluded. “Hopefully, we can continue on a trajectory towards a more normal school experience; however, if future variants warrant, the HAT team is prepared to reinstate any and all mitigation practices if needed.”

JAN. 28 LETTER FROM MAT-SU SUPERINTENDENT RANDY TRANI

Dear MSBSD Families,

The District’s Health Advisory Team (HAT), in consultation with Mat-Su Public Health, continues to monitor COVID cases in our District on a daily basis. Throughout the pandemic, the HAT team has worked to be responsive to the COVID environment here in the Valley and as the pandemic has changed, our response to the pandemic has changed. 

The current variant, Omicron, is more transmissible than previous variants. Our case counts and case counts across the State and country speak to Omicron’s infectiousness. However, Omicron may represent a step toward more normalcy for our district. Omicron is simultaneously less severe for most people who catch the disease despite being more transmissible. A more transmissible variant that is less serious has the potential to increase the general population’s immune response to future infections. 

On Monday, the World Health Organization announced that they anticipated an end to the emergency phase of the pandemic and that the Omicron variant “offers a plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.”  Further, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, offered this week that while new variants are likely to emerge, the combination of vaccination, new drug therapies, testing, and masks during surges could lead us into a time where COVID, particularly the Omicron variant, is “essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with.”

Based on many factors, including hospital capacity, our own data about the sources of current infection and the rate of spread in different environments, the lack of community support for ongoing mask requirements, as well as the availability of vaccines for all students and staff; the MSBSD will be changing our mitigation strategy with regard to masking when schools move to a yellow operational zone. While in a Yellow Operational Zone, we will strongly urge staff and students to wear masks but they will no longer be required. This change is in response to changes the HAT team sees in COVID infections in our community and will begin Monday, January 31st, 2022.

One mitigation strategy that will not change is for students and adults who have tested positive for COVID. As with current practice, COVID positive individuals can return to school after day five, provided the individual is masked for the remainder of their ten-day quarantine regardless of which operational zone their school happens to be in at the time. 

As always, the HAT team will continue to monitor the COVID environment and respond accordingly. Hopefully, we can continue on a trajectory towards a more normal school experience; however, if future variants warrant, the HAT team is prepared to reinstate any and all mitigation practices if needed.    

Respectfully, 

Randy Trani, MSBSD Superintendent

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