Photo: Getty Images
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is updating the guidance it provides schools about COVID-19.
In the new guidelines, students are no longer considered close contacts if they were wearing a mask while within three to six feet of an infected student. DHEC says the exception does not apply to teachers or other adults in the school.
The health department also says mask mandates could be safely lifted under three conditions: if the county is not in a substantial or high rate of transmission, if more than 75% of students and staff are vaccinated, or if no outbreak has occurred within the last two weeks.
An order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, still requires masks be worn on school buses.
Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.