Students at one Kanawha elementary school masking up now, not waiting for guidance

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — Most Kanawha County schools start Aug. 9, but classes are underway for Piedmont Elementary’s year-round students in Charleston.

While a fall mask policy is still up in the air for county schools, Piedmont's kids are masking now.

With the rise of Delta variant nationally, West Virginia's coronavirus czar said the unvaccinated - and that includes kids under 12 - and vaccinated people with compromised immune systems should feel comfortable masking up to protect themselves in crowded indoor situations. No need to wait for a mandate that might not come.

“Then wearing a mask is a very reasonable decision, staying distanced as much as you can and just being careful,” Dr. Clay Marsh said during Friday’s coronavirus briefing.

Kanawha County schools begin their fall term in early August. There has been no guidance yet on masking, but that is expected to come soon after the school system consults with the health department.

Outside Piedmont Elementary on Monday, a grandmother picking up a student at the school did not expect school masking to go away.

“I don't think so. I think that it's going to be part of our lifestyle. We just have to be cautious, take those precautions for ourselves,” Monique Lacy said. “I think also that adults who haven't had this vaccine shouldn’t be around smaller children either."

New variant numbers for West Virginia are expected Tuesday, but nationwide only South Dakota and Wyoming are not showing increased variant cases.

So far, Delta variants have been slow to reach the state, but that could change in the three weeks before school begins.