The Knoxville School District has seen extremely low transmission rates of COVID-19 and other diseases throughout this school year. High school biology teacher Ryan Richardson says that the use of masks has been required, and it’s easy to see why illness rates have been so low.

“In Knoxville High School and the other buildings, we’ve worn masks, we’ve done a lot of cleaning, and all those measures have been effective. We haven’t seen coronavirus spread within our buildings. Masks simply work. It really does disrupt a route of transmission. It keeps my germs to myself so that I can’t infect other people, if I am positive, and it keeps me safe from other people if they wear their mask effectively too.”

The district has required masks for all students and staff since the beginning of the school year, and has not had to transition to online learning due to virus outbreaks. Hear more from Knoxville High School biology teacher Ryan Richardson on an upcoming In Depth.