MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Health Department is coming out from under a health order for the first time since the pandemic started.
Throughout the pandemic, the health order regulated business capacity and provided guidelines on masking and how people and establishments should respond to COVID-19.
The department said, starting Monday, Jan. 31, it will no longer issue a mask mandate.
The omicron variant surge in Memphis is declining, but active cases are still at an all-time high. Just as recent as Friday, the Shelby County Health Department reported nearly 13,000 active COVID-19 cases. Still, the department said it will move from ordering formal health orders and instead post current information on its website.
"This would allow us to provide more timely updates on vaccinations eligibility, testing information, and safety recommendations," Shelby County Health Department Director Michelle Taylor said.
But now the question is, how will this impact students in Shelby County schools?
Just last week, there were more than 5,000 active COVID-19 cases among children. The Shelby County Health Department said pediatric cases have remained high since December. Taylor said schools should take necessary steps to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Since November, when Tennessee Governor Bill Lee banned mask requirements statewide, the Shelby County Health Order protected children by requiring schools who were bound to the ADA to implement a mask mandate. Six of the seven public school districts in Shelby county have ignored the department's order and made masks optional.
Those six schools include Bartlett City Schools, Collierville Schools, Germantown Municipal School District, Millington Municipal Schools, Lakeland School System, Arlington Community Schools, and Millington Municipal Schools.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Tennessee's largest school district has been the only district requiring masks.
But even with Shelby County not implementing a new order, districts may still require universal masking, social distancing and other reasonable accommodations to fit the need of students under ADA.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools hasn't released information on removing the district-wide mask mandate.