Masks can officially come off in Berkeley public schools starting next week.
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The Berkeley Unified School District announced on Monday that masks will be strongly recommended, but no longer required, indoors beginning on March 14.
Berkeley Unified Superintendent Brent Stephens announced the change just four days after public health officials in Alameda County and the City of Berkeley said they would align with the state to institute a mask recommendation after March 11.
California officials left it up to local jurisdictions to still require masks as they chose. The nearby Oakland Unified School District, for instance, has not yet made a decision about lifting its mandate.
"BUSD will continue to strongly recommend masking and we will make surgical masks readily available on all campuses and at other BUSD work locations," Stephens wrote to community members on Monday, announcing the school board will discuss the decision in a Wednesday night meeting.
Experts contend N95, KN95 and KF94 masks offer the most ample protection against COVID-19 and the highly transmissible omicron variant, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent data shows is still the country's dominant strain as its surge recedes.
More than 92% of Berkeley's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Alameda County data. That includes 74.3% of children aged 5-11, and 97.5% of children aged 12-17.