DeSantis to issue decree to allow parents to choose whether children should wear masks at school

CAP CORAIL, Florida – Despite a spate of COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference Friday morning and said he would not be deterred by “a move to impose more restrictions on the American people ”.

“In Florida, there will be no closures, there will be no school closures, there will be no restrictions and no terms in the state of Florida,” the governor said at the time. of his appearance at a restaurant in Cape Coral.

DeSantis said Floridians will be free to choose what works best for them and the state will protect the rights of its residents to work, businesses to operate and students to attend school in person.

He also said he would sign an executive order issuing emergency rules to “protect the rights of parents,” which will allow them to decide whether their children should wear masks at school.

Florida was the only large state in the United States to offer full in-person learning last year, according to the governor, and said a Brown University study found no correlation between case rates and mask mandates in schools.

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However, critics of that study say it is now obsolete and focused on small communities, where schools reopened earlier in the pandemic.

Either way, DeSantis said it is up to parents to decide whether their children should wear masks at school.

He said the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been very insistent on requiring that all students and school staff be masked, but said he thought “that would be a huge mistake” and that the CDC showed contempt for the physical and mental well-being of children.

CDC officials say they support in-person learning and believe ‘safe return’ to classrooms in the fall is a priority, but they also maintain wearing masks will help prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially for children who are not able to get vaccinated.

“Consistent and correct use of the mask by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded places, where physical distance cannot be maintained,” the CDC says on its website.