Today is the final day students and faculty at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District will have to wear face coverings.

On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health released updated COVID-19 guidance, which will go into effect Saturday.

Face coverings will no longer be mandatory inside schools and on buses, but are still “strongly” recommended by the department of public health.

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“Masks remain one of the most effective and simplest safety mitigation layers to prevent transmission of COVID-19 infections,” said the health department in Wednesday’s announcement. “High quality masks, particularly those with good fit and filtration, offer protection to the wearer and optimal source control to reduce transmission to others. To best protect students and staff against COVID-19, CDPH currently strongly recommends continuing to mask indoors in school settings.”

Students at Tahoe Truckee Unified School district have endured a year and a half of hybrid and remote learning, a delayed start to the school year last September, and a COVID spike in January that caused the district to suspend extracurricular activities. On Monday, they will have the option of whether or not to continue wearing face coverings.

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“To continue building and strengthening our (Tahoe Truckee Unified School District) community, it is important to understand that our friends and colleagues may have different opinions than us and respect that they are making the best choice for themselves and their families,” said Superintendent Carmen Ghysels. “(Tahoe Truckee Unified School District) remains committed to fostering a culture of respect among all members of our school community.”

As of Thursday, the district has three confirmed active cases of COVID-19.

Additionally, the department of public health said students in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID do not need to quarantine if they’re immunized and are not showing any symptoms. Those not immunized are recommended to quarantine for five days if symptoms aren’t present, along with receiving a negative COVID-19 test result.

For extracurricular activities, masks are strongly recommended indoors for officials, coaches, spectators and other support staff. Athletes are also strongly recommended to wear face coverings when not competing.

District officials indicated that they will continue to follow state health guidelines.

Justin Scacco is a staff writer with the Sierra Sun. He can be reached at jscacco@sierrasun.com