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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday that students in the district may not return to school on Jan. 5 unless they can show they have had a negative COVID-19 test.
“All DCPS students and staff will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test,” the mayor announced in a Twitter thread.
She went on to explain how parents can obtain the necessary antigen tests, the results of which they must upload to a government website that logs their names and addresses.
The policy comes after the D.C. City Council voted Dec. 21 to pass a bill mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for students in the district.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is screened during a dedication ceremony at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Bowser has been facing backlash after announcing in a tweet last week that proof of vaccine will be required at restaurants, bars, nightclubs, indoor entertainment facilities, gyms and indoor meeting establishments, effective Jan. 15.
OUTRAGE AFTER DC MAYOR BOWSER’S NEW COVID VACCINE ORDER: ‘WILL KILL BUSINESSES NOT VIRUSES’
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser attends the Women’s March on Washington on Jan. 21, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Bowser’s order requires people 12 and older to have at least one dose of the vaccine to enter those establishments, which will be upped to two doses by Feb. 15. Her order came after similar policies were announced in New York City, Chicago and Boston.
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Vaccination data suggest that Bowser’s mandate would disproportionately impact Black residents of the city. According to the city’s most updated vaccination data, the vaccination rate for Black residents in D.C. is 46.4%, with only 39.4% of vaccinated Black residents being fully vaccinated.
Fox News’ Cortney O’Brien and Houston Keene contributed to this report.
