By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Starting Aug. 24, the Oakland County Health Department has mandated that masks must be worn for all students and staff, grades PK-12, which includes the Brandon School District.
“This order is effective for our school district beginning today,” said Brandon superintendent Dr. Karl Heidrich in a letter to families on Aug. 25. “At this point, our protocols are lining up similarly to last year’s measures at the conclusion of the year for inside the school buildings. One difference is we do not have any directives for outside of our school buildings.”

The order mandates that all schools, daycares, and persons in educational settings, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in school settings.
“When we have a positive COVID-19 case, administrators will be directing students or staff to quarantine in cooperation with the OCHD,” said Heidrich. “Vaccinated individuals will not be quarantined. The OCHD will quarantine individuals exposed to a positive case inside our school buildings with less than three feet in physical distance.”
For the 2021-2022 school year, mask are required in the buildings under the OCHD order, and on the school buses per a federal order. Parents are also expected to monitor symptoms and keep children home if they have shortness of breath, cough, difficulty breathing or loss of smell. They are also asked to inform the school district if their child tests positive for COVID-19.
Parents were also informed of the opportunity to switch learning platforms for families prior to Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. No more changes will be granted. Cleaning protocol is still in place, and ventilation systems in buildings will continue to operate using a high filtration filter.
“Our COVID-19 challenges continue for our school district,” said Heidrich. “We will continue to offer the best educational experiences for all of our students. We appreciate your flexibility and continued support.”
The mask mandate from OCHD will stay in place until community transmission for Oakland County is categorized as ‘moderate’ by the Center for Disease Control for at least 14 consecutive days, or until further notice from the Oakland County Health Officer.
For updates to the mandate, check Oakgov.com. For Brandon School District updates, check brandonschooldistrict.org