The Berkeley Unified School District, or BUSD, will reinstate its mask mandate starting Monday due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area, as first reported by Berkeleyside.
The mandate will require students and staff to wear masks indoors, according to BUSD superintendent Brent Stephens, in an email sent to the BUSD community Friday morning. Stephens added that the mandate is to ensure students can complete the in-person school year and attend ensuing graduation ceremonies.
BUSD’s mandate will be reinstated following recommendations from Bay Area health officials to resume wearing masks after the second-highest surge in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.