MPS initially announced on March 24 that the masks would become optional in its schools from April 18. But on Tuesday, a day after the new policy went into effect, MPS informed families that the masks would be mandatory again, saying the decision was made “once a significant transmission of the virus has been determined in Milwaukee.” the mask’s mandate, the 7-day average of new cases in Milwaukee doubled to an average of 47 daily cases on April 15, according to the Milwaukee City Health Department.
The United States currently registers an average of about 35,000 new cases of Covid-19 a day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, although the daily rate is still about a third of that two months ago.
MPS’s decision comes as US cities weigh their camouflage demands, especially on public transportation, after a federal judge in Florida revoked the CDC’s mandate for public transportation masks, leaving local officials to decide whether to impose their own. Virtually all Covid-19 cases in the United States are now caused by sub-variants of the Omicron variant, according to the latest data from the CDC. Sub-variant BA.2, which caused a new wave of infections across Europe, appears to be more contagious than the original version of Omicron, but does not appear to cause more severe disease.
As cities and states experience different levels of cases, decisions about Covid-19 mitigation strategies are largely up to local officials and school districts, leading to mixed local constraints.
Authorities in Philadelphia reinstated the city’s mandate for indoor masks on Monday amid rapidly growing cases, making it the first major metropolitan area to do so since the broad lifting of mandates earlier this year. The new camouflage mandate, which includes all indoor public spaces, including schools, was returned a little over a month after the city rejected its request in March.
Heads of colleges and universities in places where cases are on the rise are also reviewing disguise requirements. Last week, three universities in the DC region – the American University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University – partially renewed their mandates for a mask on campus, citing an increase in cases in the region. John Hopkins also cites travel-related cases reported after spring break.
Travis Caldwell, Mirna Alsharif and Brenda Goodman of CNN contributed to this report.
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