Parents urge mask-less children to enter Michigan school in health violation

A group of parents urged their maskless children to ignore a Michigan school’s mask warrant and enter the building, a video posted on social media.

The chaotic scene happened outside Manchester Junior and Senior High School in Washtenaw County on Tuesday, about 25 miles southwest of Ann Arbor, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported. In a video shared on Twitter, a sheriff’s deputy is seen telling parents that an order is in place that requires people entering the school to wear a mask but he cannot enforce it.

After the parents confirm that the assistant cannot stop them, a man tells the children to come in. “They can come in, guys,” he said. “Come in, guys. They can’t apply it. “

Other parents are also starting to urge children to pass two masked school workers standing at the entrance.

“You guys, they can’t touch you. Go ahead and come in,” the man said.

As the children come inside, the parents clap and clap. Since the video was posted to Twitter on Wednesday, it has been viewed over a million times.

Manchester’s Community Schools District and the Sheriff’s Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. According to WDIV, the students were taken to a library away from others.

Superintendent Brad Bezeau told the news station that following the incident at the school, communications were sent and the students “entered peacefully with masks” into the school on Wednesday.

“Manchester has always been a place to come together around things,” he said. “I hope that after some difficulty we can do it again, because it has always been the hallmark of our community.”

The sheriff’s office said his deputy was not authorized to enforce the mask policy because they are not citing people for violating a public health order.

“Law enforcement is there to keep the peace, help keep people calm, defuse situations, explain and advise. We are not here to name people for PH violation. It can become a problem. legal / enforceable action if things get out of hand and other enforceable action is needed such as assault or destruction of property, ”the sheriff’s office told WDIV.

The district initially made face masks optional for all students and staff. On Tuesday, the county health department imposed masking on all schools, replacing district policy.