Mississippi pediatricians ask for statewide mask mandate, delay of school reopenings
A group of Mississippi pediatricians is urging the state to mandate masks for everyone, delay school reopening until at least Sept. 1, make virtual learning an option for all students.
The Mississippi chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Mississippi State Medical Association said in a statement that in-person school reopenings should not happen until cases are on a “downward trajectory.”
Mississippi has been experiencing the opposite trend: The state’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases has risen 78% since July 1.
A delay until at least Sept. 1, a week before Labor Day, will give schools time to develop plans to limit the potential for viral transmission, the statement says.
The doctors also called for a statewide mask mandate to help reduce transmission so schools can open safely, and they urged districts to mandate masks for students, staff and anyone else in school buildings, regardless of age. “Special consideration” should be given to pre-kindergarten and special needs students.
They also said virtual learning should be available to any student and not be limited to students with medical concerns
John Gaudet, president of the Mississippi chapter of the AAP, said in an interview that the recent trend of daily new COVID-19 cases above 1,000 is deeply concerning
“We want to be able to send our children to school, and doing so while the pandemic is spiking shows we’re not doing what we need to do,” he said. “We need to get the numbers down to educate our children safely.”
School districts have until July 31 to send their plans for the fall semester to the Mississippi Department of Education. In June, the state school board gave districts three options: traditional, virtual, or a hybrid of in-person and online learning.
On the Coast, most districts have opted for a traditional reopening with virtual learning for any family that wants it. Initially, some districts, like Harrison County, restricted the distance learning option to families with medical concerns. The Harrison County school board voted Friday to allow any family to choose distance learning.
For every district, distance learning brings its own complications, and access may be limited for poor families, very young children and special-needs students. Harrison County, for example, said families must have a computer and internet access to participate.
The pediatricians’ recommendations could give new momentum to a push to delay reopening and further expand virtual learning. Jackson Public Schools announced on Friday that the district will offer exclusively virtual learning for the fall semester.
Districts on the Coast have emphasized that their plans released so far are subject to change, so big shifts before school starts in early August are still possible.
One aim of the statement, Gaudet said, was to demonstrate that children’s education is becoming one more casualty of the failure to control the virus.
“As society, as a community, we are not doing the things that we need to do to stem the spread of this disease,” Gaudet said. “We need to up our game and do a better job with mitigating the spread of this infection so we can educate our kids.”
