ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The first week of school is in the books for many St. Louis County districts and there are some encouraging numbers about the spread of COVID-19 among younger students that has the county executive considering changing some restrictions.
County Executive Dr. Sam Page announced on Monday morning that the rate of positive cases among elementary-aged students has remained relatively steady. He says he could recommend a return to in-person classes for "younger students" first, but there's no timetable for that.
"We need to understand what the impact of mixing in our school settings will do to new cases because we know we will have some gatherings associated with schools," Page says.
However, Page says officials are concerned about the rate of transmission among kids 15- through 19-years-old.
As for the county as a whole, Page says transmission rates are trending slightly better, but there's no timetable on when restrictions could be relaxed.
You can watch his full announcement here:
Last Monday, new rules went into effect in the county for schools with face masks being required for everyone inside school buildings grades kindergarten through 12th-grade. There also was a change to the minimum age that wearing a face mask in public would be required – it's now in effect for anyone over the age of 5-years-old.
The new mandate also included that businesses must "deny entry" to anyone not wearing a proper face mask.
"Modifying the language from 'authorizing,' to 'must deny' entry, empowers the businesses to enforce the requirement," a press release stated.