State school board must set the mask standard for all
The Maryland State Board of Education has an opportunity today to approve an emergency regulation requiring all students, teachers and staff in all 24 public school systems to wear a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. We strongly urge that they take this much-needed action. By most any measure, the delta variant has caused a significant upturn in COVID cases nationwide and statewide from which no Maryland subdivision has been immune. Yet a half-dozen local school boards including Carroll County’s have elected not to require masks despite the strong recommendations of public health officials including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do so. Given the risks involved not only to students but to their families and to their communities, the requirement would seem a small inconvenience for a large potential benefit.
No doubt some board members will hesitate, in part, because certain right-wing opinion leaders insist that mask mandates, like vaccination mandates, represent some Big Brother-like government intrusion. Never mind that many schools already have dress codes. Or that they have long required proof of vaccination against such diseases as measles, mumps, and polio. Or that allowing children to go mask-free would surely increase the likelihood of a return to computer-enabled remote or hybrid learning. The protestations of parents against mask mandates in such jurisdictions as Anne Arundel and Harford counties have been a shameful example for children not to follow with parents yelling, jeering and acting up in public assemblies. We wouldn’t accept such behavior from toddlers. We ought not from adults who should know better.
Will school children be at zero risk if they wear masks? Of course not. That’s not how public health works. The point here is to take every reasonable step to reduce the likelihood of transmission. It’s not just masks. We should expect schools to try to maintain social distancing, to upgrade ventilation, to increase hand washing and provide testing so that those who are determined to have the virus can be isolated and contact tracing protocols exercised. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for the COVID-19 vaccinations. Wearing a mask not only reduces the risk to them but the potential transmission of the virus from them to others. It is not perfect. And yes, they will have to remove them to eat or drink. But every minute they wear them is a minute when the virus faces a barrier. And what exactly is the downside? Annoyance? Muffled speech? Unreadable facial expressions? These seem minor compared to the risk posed by COVID-19.
It’s unfortunate that Gov. Larry Hogan has not taken a more aggressive approach to masks in schools. His admonition to “wear the damn masks” last year was effective, in part, because it came from the lips of a prominent Republican. “Just mandate the damn masks” would have a nice ring to it as well. And the governor, a cancer survivor, might be able to speak from personal experience here since members of his own staff have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. And do you know where at least some of his aides were this past week?
At a Maryland Association of Counties meeting in Ocean City where masks were not required. Other MACO attendees have
reportedly been stricken with COVID as well.
We surely understand that people have grown weary of COVID precautions, and many believed the pandemic would be over by now, particularly those who were wise enough to be vaccinated. Yet, it is clearly not and may continue for months yet. While the numbers are surely not as bad as last fall, the upturn has been worrisome. Since July 8, the 14-day average of new cases has risen 1,437% in Maryland. Most of those testing positive are under the age of 40. An increasing share are under 19. The Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine this week should spur more to get vaccinated and more employers within government and the private sector to mandate it. That’s good news. But it would be foolish to rely solely on vaccination when something as simple and easy as requiring masks to be worn indoors can help slow the spread, too.
Under different circumstances a voluntary approach to mask wearing would be perfectly adequate. During flu season, for example. But in case anyone has forgotten, COVID-19 is not the flu. It spreads more easily with consequences far more severe with at least 628,000 deaths which is nearly twice the total of U.S. flu deaths over the last decade (359,000). Mandating the damn masks in all schools is more than justified, it’s essential.