Eight governors (Henry McMaster in South Carolina, Greg Abbott in Texas, Kim Reynolds in Iowa, Spencer Cox in Utah, Brian Kemp in Georgia, Ron DeSantis in Florida, Asa Hutchinson in Arkansas, Doug Ducey in Arizona) have banned the wearing of masks in schools. Each of those states have “high or substantial transmission rates”.
The feeling of the governors in these eight states is that parents should determine what is best for their children, not the government. These governors insist that the parents have the ability to “opt out” of having their children wear masks. In all fifty states, it is the government who determines that you must wear a seat belt, imposes speed limits on roads, and that all children must be vaccinated against childhood diseases like mumps and chicken pox. And it is the government of all of these states that determines that all children must attend school – not the parents.
Governor DeSantis has said that he would cut funding for any school system that mandated face masks. At the same time, MSNBC reported (8/6) that there are 135 children in hospitals in Florida suffering from Covid. Texas has more than 142 children in hospitals. Texas and Florida have 1/3 of all Covid-19 cases in the country. Texas has the strictest ban on mask wearing. Governor Abbott has said that mask wearing Is “the time for personal responsibility.” Would the governor concede that wearing seatbelts in a car is a personal responsibility or that children who attend school is a personal or governmental responsibility?
These governors contradict the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which has said that vaccinated individuals should wear a mask indoors even if they are vaccinated.
Forbes Magazine reported (8/4/2021) that the number of Covid cases among children jumped 84% last week. Nineteen (19%) of all cases in the United States were children. One child had to be transported 150 miles from her home because of the lack of a hospital room in Houston, Texas.
While children between the ages of 12-17 are eligible for the vaccines, children under the age of 12 won’t be eligible for a vaccine until Thanksgiving according to Dr. Anthony Fauci. Children under the age of 12 are ineligible to receive the vaccine.
DO NO HARM
should apply to these governors as well as doctors.