The indoor masking rule for Hawaii’s regular public schools will continue through the summer term, state officials announced today.

And as Hawaii marks the season for graduations and proms at the same time that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations tick upward for a seventh week in a row, officials are urging people to wear protective masks and take other precautions for social gatherings.

The state Department of Education made the decision to maintain the indoor masking rule through summer programs in close consultation with the state Department of Health, state Epidemiologist Sarah Kemble and state schools interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi confirmed in a press conference today.

More than 26,000 students enrolled in the DOE’s summer programs in 2021.

No decision has been made yet for the next school year, Kemble said.

Hawaii’s 37 charter schools are permitted at this time to set their own policies on masking and other COVID-19 measures.