Students, faculty and staff at Hawaiʻi public schools will not be required to wear a mask when outdoors starting Wednesday. Indoor masking is still be required.
The state Department of Education has required masking both indoors and outdoors since the start of the school year when students returned to in-person learning.
The new guidance is based on the latest recommendations from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More broadly, Gov. David Ige announced Tuesday that the statewide indoor mask mandate would end on March 25.
"If we see another surge, we will be ready to reinstitute the mask policy, if needed," he said in a statement.
Ige already announced the Safe Travels program would end March 25 when the current emergency proclamation expires.
Hawaiʻi has been the only state with a mask mandate still in place.
The CDC revised its mask guidance last month, recommending mask-wearing based on personal preference in areas where transmission is low.
Under the CDC’s measures, all Hawaiʻi counties fall into that category.
The four counties have already dropped their social distancing and event restrictions.
