RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A new report has found that about 1 in 2,800 K-12 students who attended classes under the loosest reopening guidelines became infected with COVID-19 due to in-school transmission.

The findings from Duke University and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine were released Wednesday.

They show that mask wearing is the best way to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

The report says state education leaders should consider eliminating quarantining youth who are properly masked and vaccinated.

State senators on Wednesday declined to support the bill in its current form. It would have let local school boards decide whether to require students to wear masks.

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