As Catholic schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington began the 2021-2022 academic year, students, teachers and staff – regardless of their vaccination status – are being required to wear a mask while in a school building, as part of safe reopening protocols.

“Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases both locally and across the country…, we must require that all adults and children wear masks inside all Archdiocese of Washington (ADW) school buildings, regardless of vaccination status, until further notice,” Kelly Branaman, the archdiocesan secretary for Catholic Schools and superintendent of schools, wrote in a letter sent to parents.

Branaman said the mask requirement “is certainly disappointing, but it is an important strategy to keep students and staff safe.”

Branaman noted that the Catholic Schools Office “anticipated fewer restrictions” for the new school year, but adopted the safety protocols because of an increasing number of Delta variant breakthrough cases.

A “breakthrough” infection of the Delta variant is when a fully vaccinated person contracts the virus, although the CDC reports vaccinated persons “are far less likely to get severely sick or die than people who are unvaccinated.” In Maryland, the positivity rate of the Delta variant in all persons tested is 2.15 percent. The positivity rate of the Delta variant of all persons tested in the District is 3.3 percent.

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is particularly worrisome because it is about twice as contagious as the original virus. The Delta variant differs from the original coronavirus in that while it also causes fever and cough, it can also induce headaches, sinus congestion, sore throats and runny noses.

“Our decision is based upon the prevailing guidance from health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), state and local health officials, and our consulting experts, all of which have recommended universal indoor masking in schools, regardless of vaccination status,” Branaman wrote in her letter.

The back to school mask protocols outlined in the letter to parents include universal masking indoors for everyone age 2 and over, regardless of vaccination status; however, masks will not be required out of doors nor while a person is actively eating or drinking.

In a “Health & Safety Updates” attachment to the letter, the Catholic Schools Office also outlined the following safety measures that will be followed in schools:

• Keeping a minimum of three feet physical distance between students within classrooms, with six-foot distancing recommended between adults and between students and staff.

• Three- to six-foot physical distancing during lunch periods. Teachers and staff are also encouraged to stagger lunch times and to seek out other spaces for students to eat their lunches, such as outdoors, a cafeteria, vacant classrooms or hallways.

• Increasing ventilation by opening doors and windows when the weather permits, and when it is safe to do so, and when it does not pose a risk of falling or triggering asthma symptoms or other health and safety risks.

• Using child-safe fans to keep air circulating, increasing outdoor airflow and blowing potentially contaminated air out while pulling new air in through other open windows and doors.

• Utilizing the outdoors for activities, classes and lunches when weather permits.

Branaman in her letter to parents said that archdiocesan Catholic schools officials have “worked with our partners and school leaders to incorporate strategies to allow our students to return to school, in person, five days per week.”

In an earlier interview with the Catholic Standard, Anne Dillon, director for special education for the Catholic Schools Office and one of the planners for school reopening, said, “Our goal is to establish the safest protocols for our students and staff and keep our schools open for in-person learning.”

“We know the importance of having our children in school and in-person learning because being Catholic means being a community and being one, and we all need to be together,” she said. “Also, being able to attend Mass and participate in daily prayer is a vital part of a Catholic education.”

Branaman, in her letter to parents, said she would “encourage everyone in our school communities to consider COVID-19 vaccines as a way of protecting yourselves and others.” She also noted that “the vast majority of our teachers and staff are fully vaccinated, and our school staff are vaccinated at a higher rate than the general population in Maryland and the District.”

As of Sept. 14, in Maryland, 62 percent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated; and in the District of Columbia, nearly 58 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.

“It is tempting to meet these protocols with disappointment and frustration, but we must look ahead and remain optimistic,” Branaman wrote to parents. She also assured them that “our schools will continue to work closely with local health departments in the event of a COVID exposure, and our schools will continue to follow health department guidance and directives for quarantine and isolation.”