CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Bishop Garriga Middle Preparatory School students have had a mandatory mask mandate since the beginning of the school year.
Principal Norma Castaneda said that the mask mandate has helped mitigate the spread of the virus.
"We had a mask mandate from the first day of school on August 11 to present day," Castaneda said. "So, you’re still wearing at 100-percent. Didn’t have any resistance from any staff, parents or students. So 100-percent of our students and staff are wearing masks.”
Dr. Rosemary Henry is the superintendent of Catholic schools and said that they saw a 3-percent infection rate for COVID-19 since school began.
Corpus Christi Independent School District schools began on August 10th and during that time it has had 30 days of mandatory mask wearing. CCISD's infection rate as of Sept. 26 was 5.7-percent.
"We looked at the regional data, we looked at the CDC and consulted with various health and medical professionals to guide us, to direct us," Dr. Henry said. "We looked at the science."
Along with the mask mandate, students have numerous bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray in their classrooms.
"We know that it’s been effective," Dr. Henry said. "We only had 3-percent of our students and faculty, staff population in our Catholic schools be confirmed with COVID-19."
Dr. Henry credits the mask mandate with helping to keep students in the classroom.
"We’ve been very effective in keeping students in the classroom setting in a learning environment,” Henry said.
The president of the high school and middle school is Father Peter Martinez. With COVID-19 still being present in the community, Martinez believes the mask mandate was the answer to ensuring that students were going to get the educational experience needed to excel.
"The whole reason the mask mandate was put into place is so that we can be together, so we can be at the school together in one community," Martinez said. "One faith to learn, to grow."
According to the superintendent, she expects Catholic schools to continue with the mask mandate until the science tells them otherwise.