Gulf Shores City Schools Superintendent Dr. Matt Akin rescinded the schools’ mask mandate in an open letter to parents Friday, Sept. 24.

At the start of the year, Akin said the mask mandate would be rescinded as soon as COVID-19 case numbers improved and encouraged the community to get vaccinated. The recent number of positive cases in both the Gulf Shores City Schools and the community have been trending downward.

“The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) categorizes the total number of COVID-19 cases in school systems using a scale with five levels to indicate the degree of transmission. Over the past four weeks, our district-wide data show that we have moved from Level 5 on the ADPH scale to Level 2. This week, we have had a total of five positive cases in our school district. Level 1 on the scale means that the district has zero positive cases for the week,” Akin stated in the open letter.

Starting Monday, Sept. 27, masks will be voluntary for all students and staff in the school buildings, but masks are required for students and staff on school buses per the current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order related to public transportation.

Gulf Shores City Schools will continue to post weekly data (Monday – Friday) at www.gsboe.org and continue to monitor COVID-19 case data. If a surge in cases occurs, Akin said the mask mandate will be re-implemented.

“Masks are still highly recommended. It is also important that each of us continues to practice hand-washing and respiratory etiquette (covering coughs and sneezes) to minimize the spread of infectious illnesses. Please continue to monitor your children for COVID-19 symptoms every morning and do not send them to school if they have symptoms present,” Akin said.