Maryland public elementary school reinstates COVID mask requirements, orders some kids to wear N95 masks

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An elementary school in a Washington, D.C., suburb in Maryland is reinstating school masks for some students after a handful of kids recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to a letter posted on social media.

In the now-viral X post, OutKick founder Clay Travis posted a letter purportedly sent to some parents at Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Montgomery County, updating them on updated mask requirements for their children after some kids in one class tested positive.

While Travis wrote that the mask rules were intended for third-graders, the school serves children in pre-kindergarten through second grade, according to its website.

The letter, addressed to parents of students in one specific classroom, informs parents that "3 or more individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in [redacted] class in the past 10 days. We are taking the following steps to keep our school environment as safe as possible for in-person teaching and learning."

BIDEN TO MASK UP INDOORS AGAIN AFTER NEGATIVE COVID TEST

School Principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy wrote in the letter that the N95 mask requirements come "to prevent further transmission" in that classroom for the next 10 days.

"Additional N95 masks have been distributed and students and staff in identified classes or activities will be required to mask while in school for the next 10 days, except while eating or drinking," Kennedy wrote. "Masks will become optional again following the 10-day period."

Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Montgomery County, Maryland is requiring third-graders to wear N95 masks to prevent COVID-19 in the classroom. (iStock)

The principal said that at-home rapid tests kits will be sent home and encouraged parents to be on the lookout for COVID symptoms.

"At-home rapid test kits will be sent home and made available for students," Kennedy states, giving the guidance from the CDC that testing should be done, "5 days after an exposure (starting day 6)," or at such time as symptoms occur.

VANCE TO INTRODUCE MEASURE PREVENTING OFFICIALS FROM IMPOSING MASK MANDATES IN SCHOOLS, ON AIRPLANES

The principal concluded her letter to parents, saying that following the newly reinstated mask rules to "ensure that staff and students remain healthy for in-person learning."

In an email to Fox News, Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson Christopher Cram said the mask requirement affects just the single classroom of students and will expire on Monday, Sept. 11.

"Our practice of recommending or requiring masking during confirmed outbreaks is the same as last year, and is in the reopening guide, mentioned in the back to school letter, and on our COVID website," Cram wrote. "We followed this process last year and found it useful during COVID outbreak winter season in preventing local spread."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Rosemary Hills Elementary School for comment, but has not heard back.

Amid an uptick in COVID cases, experts have agreed that the coronavirus, in all its forms, is likely a permanent part of life.

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"One thing that Americans must understand: SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are never going away," Dr. Brett Osborn, a board-certified neurosurgeon in West Palm Beach, Florida, told Fox News Digital. "It is here to stay because its mutation rate is high, just like influenza."

Fox News Digital's Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify that the school serves children in pre-kindergarten through second grade.