As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is threatening to withhold funding from Alachua and Broward County school districts for imposing district wide school mask mandates, other school districts are considering defying the state as well.
DeSantis previously signed an executive order banning mask mandates in Florida’s school, much to the ire of Alachua and Broward, but now Hillsborough and Miami-Dade counties are planning on addressing masking issues in upcoming school board meetings.
Hillsborough and Miami-Dade, which are the public-school districts for Tampa and Miami, respectively, have seen an increase in COVID cases among its students and staff.
For Hillsborough County schools this week, as many as 8,400 students and over 300 employees were quarantining. Miami-Dade lost four teachers and a student to COVID, according to Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Both school districts will be reviewing the possibility of mask mandates this week.
A task force in Miami, comprising medical professionals, is also recommending students wear masks starting next week.
“I am accepting 100% of their recommendations specific to the protocols, inclusive of mandatory masking,” said Carvalho.
Similarly, Palm Beach County schools, just north of Broward, have seen 500 cases among students and employees. Palm Beach is one of Florida’s counties implementing a mask-optional policy, which only 6 percent of its students are participating in.
Lisa Gwynn, president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said it is not recommending any type of mask opt-out.
“We do not recommend any type of opt-out,” said Gwynn. “There is no indication that children should not be wearing masks. They are not harmful in any way.”
Despite Gwynn’s claim, the American Institute for Economic Research published a study entitled, “Masking Children: Tragic, Unscientific, and Damaging,” showing masks might, in fact, cause harm to children despite their age bracket being practically unsusceptible to COVID.
“Children do not readily acquire SARS-CoV-2 (very low risk), spread it to other children or teachers, or endanger parents or others at home. This is the settled science. In the rare cases where a child contracts Covid virus it is very unusual for the child to get severely ill or die.”
The research continued by suggesting the severe health and psychological damage to masking children.
“There is tremendous psychological damage to infants and children, with potential catastrophic impacts on the cognitive development of children. This is even more critical in relation to children with special needs or those within the autism spectrum who need to be able to recognize facial expressions as part of their ongoing development. The accumulating evidence also suggests that prolonged mask use in children or adults can cause harms, so much so that Dr. Blaylock states “the bottom line is that [if] you are not sick, you should not wear a mask.” Furthermore, Dr. Blaylock writes, ‘By wearing a mask, the exhaled viruses will not be able to escape and will concentrate in the nasal passages, enter the olfactory nerves and travel into the brain.’”
It is unclear how many students or faculty members in Florida’s school districts are being hospitalized or are battling life-threatening bouts with COVID.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
