Philadelphia – Yesterday, the School District of Philadelphia reiterated the implementation of masking following winter break, per the general COVID-19 protocol for the 2022-2023 school year that was shared in August. In an effort to be proactive in supporting healthy environments and maintaining in-person learning following students and staff returning from winter break, the District will implement mandatory masking from January 3 through January 13, 2023. As previously shared, the District has been monitoring Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) data to drive the District’s policy, and working closely with PDPH to monitor local COVID-19 conditions. This is a proactive measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses in school, reduce absenteeism and prioritize in-person learning after the winter break.
Starting December 12, District employees, students and families can pick up free at-home COVID-19 test kits at our five school-based testing locations while supplies last. SDP testing locations will be closed on December 26 and January 2 in observance of the federal holidays. Testing locations, the most updated COVID-19 data and more information can be found on the District’s COVID-19 Information Hub, which is available at philasd.org.
The District also encourages families and staff to take extra precautions to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and will continue to work with the PDPH to closely monitor COVID case counts and implement any actions needed to protect the health and well-being of everyone in the schools.
