Dr. Summer Stephens, Superintendent of Churchill County School District clarified this morning by email that the school district is not at this time making changes to the plan for returning students to the classroom this coming school year.
"There is a bunch of information out right now related to the Directive 47 and face coverings," said Stephens, "so wanted to provide the best update I could right now. At this time, the district has not changed its Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan. As always, we will keep everyone fully abreast of any changes." She provided a link to the plan, which can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C1PEzL9OfYKkl7LOwoaryOVK89W5YLbyGqFxmcTYvQc/edit?usp=sharing
Additionally, Sheriff Richard Hickox said this morning that his office will not enforce a mask mandate. "We are taking the same stance as before, we are not going to be the mask police."
On Tuesday, Governor Sisolak implemented Emergency Directive 045 that he signed on May 3, which says the state will follow the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance related to mask requirements. He then issued Directive 047 to provide a grace period for 12 of Nevada’s 17 counties that were expected to implement the mask guidance by 12:01 this morning, Friday, July 30.
Based on CDC data as of Tuesday, July 27, 12 of Nevada’s 17 counties are currently deemed as having substantial or high transmission. That includes Carson, Churchill, Clark, Douglas, Elko, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Washoe and White Pine.
Eureka, Humboldt, and Lander counties are listed as moderate, and Pershing and Storey counties are at low transmission as of Tuesday’s CDC updates.
The State’s mask mandate was updated after the CDC recommended that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission.
Stephens provided clarification at the Board of Health meeting earlier this week, that the CDC recommends, not requires.
In Texas on Thursday Governor Greg Abbott issued an Executive Order (GA-38) prohibiting mask mandates or COVID-19 vaccine requirements from government agencies and municipalities statewide. “To further ensure that no governmental entity can mandate masks, the following requirement shall continue to apply: No governmental entity, including a county, city, school district, and public health authority, and no government official may require any person to wear a face-covering or to mandate that other persons wear a covering,” the executive order read.
In May, Abbott issued his first EO prohibiting governmental entities from requiring a mask, saying "The Lone Star State continues to defeat COVID-19 through the use of widely-available vaccines, antibody therapeutic drugs, and safe practices utilized by Texans in our communities. Texans, not government, should decide their best health practices, which is why masks will not be mandated by public school districts or government entities. We can continue to mitigate COVID-19 while defending Texans' liberty to choose whether or not they mask up."
On Tuesday the positivity rate in Churchill County was 12.4%, with 21 positive COVID cases over the previous 14 day period. Today, the positivity rate in Churchill County is 7.6% with an average of two daily cases over the past 14 days. The county is urging residents to get vaccinated against the virus.
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