Small California school district reinstates indoor masking

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (AP) — A small California school district has reinstated an indoor masking mandate due to rising cases of COVID-19. The Pacific Grove Unified School District at the south end of Monterey Bay announced the requirement Monday. The action came after the Monterey County Health Department reported a seven-day average test positivity rate of 5.2% and a seven-day average of 12.4 cases per 100,000 residents. Last month, the district’s board set thresholds for indoor masking when the test positivity rate exceeded 5% and the case rate surpassed 10 per 100,000 residents. The district has about 2,000 K-12 students in five schools.