Pali High Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate

By LILY TINOCO | Reporter

Palisades Charter High School reinstated its indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, April 20, following an uptick in COVID-19 positive cases among students and staff.

“After school resumed session from spring break, testing has revealed that there has been a significant increase in positive COVID-19 tests in our PCHS community,” according to the school’s website. “Subsequently, we surpassed the negotiated threshold for our Local-to-PCHS Positivity Rate of 0.5% … which triggers PCHS going back to mandatory mask wearing indoors.”

The positivity rate is a threshold that Pali High’s administration and PCHS-UTLA agreed on months ago, Principal Pamela Magee said to the Palisadian-Post.

The school has exceeded a positivity rate of 0.5% and is currently at 0.7%.

Magee said case rates are reviewed weekly and the school will review case rates on Friday, April 29, to determine if indoor masking will carry into the month of May.

A final determination is still in the works between the school and its union representatives, but if the Local-to-PCHS Positivity Rate exceeds 1.5% in a given week, Pali High will return to masks being required at all times when on campus, indoors and outdoors.

“We all hope this never becomes necessary, but wanted to remind you of this possibility,” according to the school.

Los Angeles county health officials urged parents and students to be cautious as classes resumed after spring break to protect themselves against the spread of COVID-19.

“As schools reopen after the spring break and spring holidays, additional precautions are warranted given the increased circulation of the more infectious BA.2 subvariant in LA County,’’ Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “Identifying those who are infected early so that they can isolate from others requires continued emphasis on testing. This is especially important at schools and we urge parents to take advantage of school sponsored testing opportunities, including using the antigen test kits sent home before the spring break and allowing their children to participate in routine school-based testing.

“And while masking indoors is not required at most schools, safety at schools is significantly improved if students and staff are wearing high quality, well-fitting masks when indoors. This is particularly important at schools where testing after the spring break indicates significant numbers of infected students and staff.”

City News Service contributed to this report.