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Updated COVID protocols are going into action Thursday at St. Catherine of Siena School in Port Arthur.

Effective Thursday, the requirement is all students, faculty, staff and visitors must wear face coverings when indoors on campus and when attending religious education classes in the parish.

The move comes from the Diocese of Beaumont and impacts all of its 5 schools.

Diocese leaders said updated guidelines from the CDC and consultation with local health departments led to the decision “for the safety and protection of our students and for their continuity of education.”

Masks will also be required for indoor sports as well as indoor extracurricular activities.

Masks will be optional for outdoor activities and events.

“Being properly masked drastically reduces the chance that an individual would be required to quarantine when there is a close contact situation at a school or in a parish religious education class,” a release from the Diocese said.

“We recognize that families have been burdened with the stress of having to quarantine, sometimes multiple times within the same family. We believe that this additional layer of safety will mitigate this issue.”

School leaders plan to continue regularly monitoring and evaluating protocols in consultation with medical providers and in consideration of CDC and local health department guidelines.