Parents furious about online classes and demand end to ‘baloney’ coronavirus school mask mandates
UTAH Governor Gary Herbert has chided “foolish” parents who crowded into meetings to protest a mask mandate and online school classes, as covid-19 surges in the state.
Parents gathered at at least two seperate town-hall style meetings in Utah on Wednesday, with photos showing many did not social distance or wear masks.
Utah has recorded 226 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 and nearly 30,500 confirmed cases, including 448 new reported cases Tuesday.
“I think the experts will tell us that’s kind of a foolish action,” Herbert told the Associated Press.
“People get caught up in almost a mob mentality … there’s a better way to dialog with leadership.”
At least two town hall-style meetings were held where parents retaliated against what they’re calling government overreach.
“This mandate for the children to wear masks is baloney,” said one mother, a Provo resident, at the Utah County commission meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“We have the right to make our own choices.”
Local officials in Utah County abruptly canceled the meeting because the crowd did not follow social-distancing guidelines meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The county commissioners had planned to vote on whether or not to ask for a partial exemption from Herbert’s statewide mask mandate for schools.
Attendees in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, booed after the commissioners opted to push the vote to a later date because of health concerns.
Video footage showed the meeting was packed with people who opposed the mandate, very few of whom were wearing masks.
At another meeting in Salt Lake City, many parents were furious that Governor Herbert had said students would not attend in-person classes this fall if the city was still in the ‘orange’ phase of re-opening.
“It’s not fair,” one student said, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“All of the schools around us get to go back. And we don’t.”
Governor Herbert had previously said some school districts may be able to return to in-person classes in the fall, but that teachers and students would be forced to wear masks.
Among concerns of parents were that teachers and students would not be able to engage properly if they are wearing masks, and that they will cause distress for students with asthma or anxiety.
Others said it would be impossible to enforce the mask mandate on young children.
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While children are less likely to get covid-19 than adults, they can still carry and spread the virus, according to the CDC.
Masks can prevent the spread of the disease by catching respiratory droplets that contain the virus when people exhale or cough.
Health experts say they are a key tool in allowing the resumption of economic activity and schools.
Critics argue mask mandates overstep government power.