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Camden schools will require masks for two weeks after holiday break

A growing number of school systems, including Philadelphia, are reinstating mask mandates amid a recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

Khamoni Davis-Victor, 7, makes way to class after lunch period at Yorkship School in Camden in June. The district announced Wednesday that masks will be mandatory for two weeks when classes resume on Jan. 3 after the holiday recess.
Khamoni Davis-Victor, 7, makes way to class after lunch period at Yorkship School in Camden in June. The district announced Wednesday that masks will be mandatory for two weeks when classes resume on Jan. 3 after the holiday recess.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer
    by Melanie Burney
    Updated 
    Published 

Camden’s public school students and teachers must wear masks for two weeks when they return from the holiday break, Superintendent Katrina McCombs announced Wednesday.

A growing number of school systems, including Philadelphia, are reinstating mask mandates amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. School officials are hoping to help prevent a surge after social gatherings and increased exposure during the recess.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia schools will require masking for 10 days after winter break

In a letter sent to parents, McCombs said anyone entering the district’s schools from Jan. 3 to Jan. 13 must wear a mask. In addition to increased COVID cases, the state has reported an uptick in flu and other respiratory illness, she said.

“Therefore, in an effort to be proactive and remain vigilant, all schools and offices will operate under a short mask mandate upon reopening,” McCombs wrote. Thursday is a half-day dismissal for all students.

The district had made masks optional for the 2022-23 school year.

Camden, which enrolls about 5,800 students, was among the last districts in the region to fully reopen after the pandemic. Its mask requirement wasn’t lifted until this fall.