CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Metropolitan School District said it is extending the district’s mask mandate through the end of October. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland Metropolitan School District has extended its mask mandate through the end of October

  • The district said that masks have kept the spread of COVID-19 low

  • Cleveland Schools said just one of the 315 cases among students and staff was traced back to within schools

  • Gov. Mike DeWine has called on districts to continue mandating masks in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 within schools

The requirement applies to students, employees and visitors regardless of vaccination status. 

CMSD Superintendent Eric Gordon said that the mask mandate, which has been in place for the entire school year, is “working.” 

“While the virus is spreading in our community, it is not spreading in our schools,” Gordon said. “Masks are not the only reason our strategy has been so effective. Social distancing, frequent sanitation, temperature checks, care clinics in each school, our COVID reporting hotline and swift notification of positive cases sent home by our dedicated nurses and principals all play roles.”

According to state data, there have been 254 COVID-19 cases among Cleveland Metropolitan students and 61 among staff so far this school year. Gordon said, however, that only one of those cases were traced back to spreading within schools. 

Gordon said that the mask mandate gives the district the best opportunity at keeping students in the classroom.

“Students who struggled during a year of isolation and remote learning are back where they learn best, in classrooms, and we are going to do everything in our power to keep them there,” Gordon said. 

Earlier this month, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine requested that districts implement their own mask mandates.

“If a child is too young to be vaccinated, then until we get through this, we need students who come to school to wear a mask,” DeWine said Sept. 14. 

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