Diocese of St. Petersburg to require mask-wearing in all schools

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The Diocese of St. Petersburg will require masks in all Catholic schools under its jurisdiction.

Christopher Pastura, superintendent of Catholic Schools and Centers, in a letter to parents said a high spread of COVID-19 within the schools prompted the change in policy.

Bay News 9 first published the letter.

“As you likely know, rates for COVID-19 in all five Diocese of St. Petersburg counties continue at extremely high levels and school-aged children now make up 25% of new cases,” the letter reads. “After just two weeks of school, we have experienced significant disruptions due to student and staff illness and quarantines mandated by the Department of Health. After much thought and prayer, we believe it’s necessary to elevate our precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our school communities and effective operation of our schools.”

Effective Monday, face coverings will be required for all employees, visitors and students from age 4 through 12th grade while indoors. That requirement will be in place regardless of vaccination status and any prior opt-out on mask policy will no longer apply. Those with a medical condition will be the only ones allowed out of the policy if they have a form signed by a licensed medical professional explaining the reason.

The policy will remain in effect until weekly new case rates drop below 100 per 100,000 population in a county and when positivity rates drop below 10%, the threshold epidemiologists generally consider a virus out of control.

The Diocese runs 46 schools in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties. Notably, public schools in Hillsborough have a similar mask mandate in place but none of the other counties’ public school districts have such mask policies.

It’s not the first Diocese in Florida to begin requiring masks at its schools. The Diocese of Venice started the school year with such a mandate in place, prompting protests from some parents.