Ron DeSantis remains ahead of the curb
The Florida Governor said he will oppose any move by the federal government to require children to wear masks in the upcoming school year.
“There’s been talk about potentially people advocating at the federal level, imposing compulsory masks on kids. We’re not doing that in Florida. We need our kids to breathe.”
And DeSantis threatened to call the Florida legislature into an emergency session if need be.
He maintained masks are too uncomfortable for children by restricting their breathing and making it difficult to learn.
“There’s not much science behind masking children,” he said.
Adding:
“Parents obviously can equip their kids to go to school however they want, but there shouldn’t be any coercive mandates on our schools.”
Meanwhile, it’s been recommended that children over the age of two mask up before returning to school, even if they received the vaccine. The American Academy of Pediatrics is leading the charge to keep kids masked despite the low mortality rate and lack of data.
The AAP said universal masking is necessary for school staff as well, because much of the student population is not vaccinated, and it is difficult for educational facilities to determine who is as new variants appear that could spread more easily among the young.
Still, the Biden White House is continuing to push the anti-science mandate of masking children, even singling out Gov. DeSantis for balking the CDC dictate.
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki responds to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) saying he won’t impose mask mandate for children bc kids "need to breathe":
“If I were a parent in Florida, that would be greatly concerning to me.” pic.twitter.com/ODjZ6U0gFR
— The Recount (@therecount) July 22, 2021
As the delta variant spreads, officials are now debating whether they should push for new mask recommendations, six people familiar with the discussions told the newspaper. Some of the talks include representatives from the CDC who are separately examining whether to update their masking guidance
One idea being discussed would be to ask everyone to wear masks when vaccinated and unvaccinated people mix in public places or indoors, like in malls, according to the newspaper’s sources.
Author: Elizabeth Tierney
