Things can, and often do change month after month.

But it appears in Washington state, masks and three-foot distancing is already being planned for in public schools for the 2021-22 school year.

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Thursday, the Washington State Department of Health issued the following "guidance" for summer school and next year. They include:

  • "All students, school personnel, volunteers, and visitors must wear at least a cloth face covering or an acceptable alternative when indoors, as well as outdoors where a minimum of six feet distancing cannot be maintained.
  • Physical distancing of at least three feet or more between students in classroom settings and at least six feet or more in most situations outside of the classroom to the degree possible is recommended. However, physical distancing recommendations should not prevent a school from offering full-time, in person learning to all students/families in the fall.
  • While COVID-19 testing programs and vaccinations are not required for providing in-person learning, these measures can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools and the broader community."

DOH said all school districts must continue to monitor and follow the Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery guidance mandates.

DOH also said they will continue to "monitor the science, disease burden, and uptake of vaccination and periodically update the guidance accordingly."

Meanwhile, Burbio, the online data, information and trends business tracking company reports as of 5-11-2021 that WA state has 60% of it's students getting in-person education. Meanwhile, 11 states, including Idaho are at 100% of pre-COVID rates. Another 12-15 states are above 95% rates.

Many of these states have also ceased in-school mask mandates. And, the CDC is leaning towards advice from former FDA officials and others, and considering doing away with indoor mask mandates. 

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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