The St. Louis U. High administration announced two weeks ago that the school would be transitioning to Condition II, most notably signifying that masks were no longer mandated but recommended. On Tuesday, the administration determined that the school could transition to Condition I of its safety plan, marking the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that SLUH has gone below Condition II.

On July 25, 2021, the school outlined its safety plan for the 2021-2022 school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration outlined four conditions which the school could pivot between based on regional and school metrics. In order for the school to migrate to Condition I, it would have to have a high vaccination rate and single-digit monthly cases. In addition, the city would have to report a positivity rate of less than 5 percent and an r-naught factor of less than 1.

 “The metrics are what drive this process. For us to say we're below the waterline for condition one, but we're going to go ahead and wait an extra three weeks, that's not the nature of having a plan like this,” said principal Fr. Ian Gibbons, SJ.
As reported previously, SLUH has a high vaccination rate, with over 90 percent of students and nearly 100 percent of faculty vaccinated. Within the past month, there have been two positive cases communicated to the school, with both cases occurring at the beginning of the month. Within the city of St. Louis, the positivity rate is at 5 percent and the r-naught factor is 0.58. As outlined by the COVID safety plan, the school has met all metrics to make the adjustment to Condition of I and will do so today, March 4.

“There has been so much suffering within our community and within our world caused by this pandemic, so I'll take this victory anytime,”said Gibbons. “There is not a message or a political piece to this decision to move to Condition I whatsoever. It's simply our plan.”

In the initial days of Condition I, few aspects of a student’s day to day life will be impacted. However, visitors to the school will no longer be required to wear a mask. In addition, events with a mixed group of students and visitors, such as mother-son trivia, the play and sporting events, will no longer require masks. 

For the time being, the school will continue the onboarding process of temperature screening and VisitU check in process. Students that travel or participate in a retreat may continue to be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.

As Covid cases continue to decline across the nation, Gibbons and the rest of the safety team remain hopeful that the pandemic will soon enter into the endemic stage. Next week, the safety committee will reconvene to discuss plans for after spring break in terms of where to move after Condition I. 

“Condition zero, so to speak, would be to get rid of the safety plan and move away from having to put those safety pieces into place,” said Gibbons. "I expect that as cases continue to decline within our region that we'll be able to shift away from some of those safety pieces like the daily health surveys and the temperature screening.”