The Colusa County Board of Supervisors took a stand Tuesday to support parental choice on whether their children should wear masks to slow transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus.
The board voted unanimously to adopt a Healthy Children resolution supporting the World Health Organization’s opinion that children age 5 and under should not be required to wear a mask at any time.
The resolution, which will be sent to Colusa County school districts and state health officials, also addresses concerns that imposing a mask requirement upon children ages 6-11 should be based on several factors, including the impact that mask wearing has on a childs psychological development.
Colusa Countys official position is that the decision for children to wear masks in school should be left to the parents.
Board Chairman Gary Evans said little has changed since May of 2020 when the board declared the county would not be the ” mask police.
” We decided then that people should assume their own level of risk, and that schools and churches were free to run their businesses as they saw fit,” Evans said. ” In my mind, that has not changed.
Several parents attended Tuesdays meeting to encourage the county to stand up for the rights of parents. Several plan to petition their school districts to allow parents to decide what they think is best for their own children. Colusa Unified already decided to leave the decision up to parents.
Pierce parents plan to request the same of their district.
” The time has come for us as parents and Americans to stand up and say ˜enough is enough,” said Garrett Charter, of Arbuckle. ” Our kids have been through hell the past year and a half stuck in this pandemic. No sports, socially distanced from friends and family – and when they got to go back to school, they had to hide their smiles and expressions while breathing in toxins.
Superintendent Mike West applauded the Board of Supervisors for taking the position that children are less likely to transmit COVID-19 even without wearing masks, and that teachers are no more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than any other occupation.
” We need to have common sense rule what is going on in our schools,” West said.
West said parents need to go to their school districts and explain their positions.
” Realistically, they cant dispute the fact that transmission between student to student and student-to-teacher transmission at the school setting is minimal; its minuscule at best,” West said.
West said if the state requires districts to enforce masking, it will only force parents to take their children out of the system.
” That is not what we want,” West said. ” They need to be in there.
Elizabeth Kelly, Health and Human Services director, has not changed her position on virus transmission since the height of the pandemic.
” Masks help in some regard to mitigate community spread,” she said. ” However, as an agency, we support what makes sense for our kids. Our kids do need to be in school. But we need to encourage hand washing and staying home if sick. If the school does have an outbreak, our team will come in and help.
Kelly said COVID-19 is here to stay, the same as the influenza virus, and that it is likely that a new vaccine will be developed annually based on the variant in season.
” We need to learn to live within this – just like the flu – and that includes our children,” Kelly said.
According to Public Health, Colusa County children, 17 and under, account for zero of the total deaths from COVID-19.
Kelly said there were 27 cases reported in the past week, 5 of whom were vaccinated. There were 78 cases in the month of July, 15 of whom were vaccinated.
” None of those breakthrough cases were hospitalized, and none died,” she said.
According to the resolution adopted Tuesday, Colusa County schools have had zero COVID-19 transmission occurring on campus.
County officials said all individuals ages 12 and up have had ample opportunity to get vaccinated, and that the county will continue to make vaccinations available to those who want them.
” Im for doing away with masks for children in school,” said Adrienne Bailey, of Arbuckle. ” We need to let our children be children. We need to let them smile and be smiled at.” –