During a meeting of the Boulder County Board of Health that happened late into the evening on Monday, February 15, the Board made the decision to terminate the mask requirement for indoor environments as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 18.

The termination of this order also ends the masking requirement in St. Vrain Valley Schools.

In a written statement, Superintendent of St. Vrain Valley Schools Dr. Don Haddad announced the change while reminding everyone that the District continues to work closely with many different county and state health officials and that this decision was made directly following the order made by the Boulder County Board of Health.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to work closely with our county and state health agencies regarding COVID-19 safety protocols. Last night, the Boulder County Board of Health voted to end their indoor mask requirement […] Accordingly, we are updating our protocols. Masks will become optional in our schools and buildings for all teachers, staff, and students after 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 18,” he said.

In accordance with the order, masks will also be optional for athletic events and other activities. This includes spectators and audience members, who do not have to wear masks to watch an indoor sport or school play. Athletes and performers also can go without masks, which extends to playing musical instruments in classes without bell covers or other barriers.

However, the masks aren’t totally going away. Dr. Haddad made sure to clarify that “masks will continue to be required on district transportation, pursuant to the CDC’s Order under Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 264, and 42 C.F.R. 70.2, 71.31(b).” Students and staff may also be asked to wear masks when attending field trips to buildings and locations outside of the district.

Still, the decision is a breath of fresh air to many students and staff. “This will be so beneficial to the courses I teach,” said Mr. Brandon Coon, the head of Frederick’s theatre department. “It is very hard for actors to sing, shout, and express themselves under a mask. I’ve had many of my students request mask exemptions as a result of them getting dizzy and hyperventilating during performance. This will also make my teaching better, as I can spend more time working with students on what they need help with than losing time making sure students have their masks up.”

While most of Frederick will be tossing their masks off after the upcoming four-day weekend, not every student or staff member will feel safe or comfortable without their mask. Some students and staff members, for example, are immunocompromised or have immunocompromised family members at home. This means that passing COVID to them is as much of a danger as it was at the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago.

While schools and teachers can no longer require masks at school, Dr. Haddad said that “students, teachers, staff, and visitors are always welcome to wear a mask if they choose to do so.” More to it, the Frederick High administration expects students to respect one another’s individual decisions on whether or not to wear a mask. But regardless of if you will keep the mask on or put your masks away, the important thing is that (after this Friday) it gets to be completely your choice.