DUNMORE, Pa. — Students at Dunmore High School have something to look forward to in the new year.
Gov. Tom Wolf says the masks may be able to come off in the classroom.
"it's great," said Dunmore junior Carmen Denapoli. "I think they gotta go; it's been too long with them. It's just a good thing. We're happy about it."
"I think having no masks in schools is better for everyone. it's uncomfortable having them on," said junior Dale Symons. "Your ears hurt, and you can't breathe sometimes. There's pluses and negatives to it. But I'm happy about it."
Starting January 17, the statewide mandate will end, and the decision on whether to continue wearing masks will be up to individual school districts.
Dunmore Superintendent John Marichak was relieved by the announcement but stopped short of making any guarantees that the district's policy will change on that date.
"We'll discuss it with our board of education and weigh all the options and see what research, data, and information is available and go from there. We always try to make good decisions, but it'll be a board decision," Marichak said.
Now that most Pennsylvanians are vaccinated and school-age children can get the shot, the governor says it's time we learn to live with the virus.
Marichak agrees but isn't sure why schools have to wait until January to make a change.
"Knowing that the light is kind of at the end of that tunnel, we don't want to be spending our time saying, 'Hey, put your mask on, put your mask on.' Or having to go to a point where there's consequences. So I don't understand why the date so far into the future had to be announced, but that's fine."