The county is currently moving through COVID vaccinations for the 5-11 age group. According to Adler, roughly 250 vaccinations have been administered of about 300 made available to the county. The county is currently waiting on additional doses to be supplied for the younger age group.
At least two school corporations in the Greater Lafayette area are taking a “wait and see” approach to mask mandates, depending on whether Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb lifts the COVID-19 state of emergency.
Holcomb has extended the state of emergency month to month, but has indicated he is interested in lifting it. The current state of emergency is set to expire on Dec. 1.
Officials with the Tippecanoe School Corporation say they hope to make masks optional in January. TSC spokesperson Sue Scott said the school board wants to lift the mandate but “is waiting to see what changes in control measures (contact tracing and quarantine rules) the state makes.”
TSC began the school year with optional masking, but transitioned to a requirement after facing a disproportionate number of student quarantines.
Lafayette School Corporation Superintendent Les Huddle said if the governor lifts the state of emergency, the board will begin a discussion of their mask policy.
The West Lafayette Community School Corporation did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Tippecanoe County Health Officer Dr. Jeremy Adler said mask guidance from state and federal health experts should be the deciding factor on a mask policy.
“Regardless of whether the declared emergency is lifted by the governor or not, we’ll need to let the data and the recommendations from state and national experts guide us,” he said. “We’re still seeing fairly significant cases, certainly higher than where we want them to be.”
Masks are still recommended in schools by the Indiana Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Adler said the county remains an area of high transmission for COVID, something he would like to see change before mask requirements are lifted.
“I would think certainly we would want our community transmission rate to drop out of the high category and even out of the substantial category and be in the mild or moderate categories before you start thinking about that,” he said.
