Allegan County has joined Genesee and Kalamazoo counties in mandating masks for schoolchildren who are too young to receive a coronavirus vaccine.
The Allegan County Health Department says the county has a high level of community transmission of COVID-19. Test positivity rates are around 12 percent. The department directive notes that the Delta variant of the virus is now dominant in Michigan, and it's significantly more contagious than the original form of COVID-19.
And, while the risk of severe disease is lower in children, the county health department says up to three and a half percent of COVID hospitalizations in some states are children.
The mask mandate applies to children in kindergarten through grade 6, and it will remain in place for six weeks after such time that a vaccine is made available to younger children.