Public school districts in Pennsylvania will be allowed to remove their mask requirement in January, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. The statewide mask mandate, which was imposed in early September in response to a surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, is set to expire on Jan. 17, 2022. Wolf said at that time, schools may decide whether to follow the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to keep the mask requirements in place, although his administration will “continue to reevaluate the status of the school mask mandate.” “Now, we are in a different place than we were in September, and it is time to prepare for a transition back to a more normal setting,” the Democratic governor said. ”Unfortunately, the COVID-19 virus is now a part of our daily lives, but with the knowledge we’ve gained over the past 20 months and critical tools like the vaccine at our disposal, we must take the next …