Some parents objected to the school children wearing masks.
Tensions rose at a public hearing in Utah on the state mask mandate for schoolchildren after several parents defied orders by filling the room without covering their faces.
The parents, some of whom carried signs condemning the facial masks, did not sit in the marked seats and booed Utah county officials Wednesday night. The hearing was held during a letter from Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee asking Governor Gary Herbert to waive his requirement that students in kindergarten through 12th grade wear a mask when they return to open schools.
Utah County Commissioner Tanner Ainge objected to the letter, citing the safety of the students and warned the crowd for putting everyone in the courtroom at risk by not wearing masks or distancing themselves socially.
“This is exactly the opposite of what we need to be doing,” Ainge told the crowd before they booed him.
The hearing, held in Provo, Utah, was postponed by a 2-1 vote, prompting more booing and angry calls from opponents of the mask’s mandate.
Herbert has called for schools to reopen in the fall, and local districts provide specific guidelines, including blended learning models. Earlier this month, he issued a mandate requiring children and teachers to wear a mask while at school.
Utah has seen a jump in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with 21,639 new cases reported since June 1, according to the state health department. The state saw an average of 481 cases per day during that period, and some days saw a record number of new cases. On July 9, 868 Utah residents contracted COVID-19, according to the health department.
As of July 16, there have been 234 deaths in the state due to the virus, the health department said.
Despite the increase in cases, some parents questioned the need for masks for their children.
“I think he is totally wrong. I think it is a political hoax and I am against the masks,” Denna Robertson told Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX.
Lee, who joined some of the opponents in a protest outside the meeting, said the state should have had more communication with communities before the mandate.
“There is not enough that we understand. They are sitting there saying, ‘Wait a second. Wait a second, we should have more discussion,'” he told KTVX.
However, some teachers and parents at the meeting argued that the risks are too difficult to ignore and that masks are needed to stop the spread of the virus.
“Since when do we have the constitutional right to endanger other lives? We cannot smoke in public places, because it endangers other people’s lives,” Tina Cannon, a former teacher, asked one of the opponents during the hearing. . , according to KTVX.
Another teacher, who wore a sign encouraging the use of masks, became engaged to the dissidents.
“All I am saying is that I am trying to save my grandmother’s life and I am a teacher,” she said.
Studies have shown that wearing a face covering greatly reduces transmission of COVID-19 in places where social distancing cannot be maintained. Herbert signed an executive order on July 10 requiring anyone who enters state property to cover their faces.
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