Issue a Public Health Order to require masks in Jackson County schools

Issue a Public Health Order to require masks in Jackson County schools

Started
August 27, 2021
Petition to
Jackson County Health Department
Signatures: 349Next Goal: 500
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Why this petition matters

Started by Brittnee Senecal

Letter to Jackson County Health Department and Commissioners

We, the undersigned residents of Jackson County, call upon county health officials to use their power to issue a Public Health Order that would compel public school districts in the county to require masks inside school facilities.
We believe that requiring masks are essential for the following reasons:

1. Currently in the United States, the Delta variant is the dominant variant, and it is 2-3 times more contagious than the Alpha variant that rampaged children in Michigan in the Spring of 2021. Data from the United Kingdom shows that the Delta variant is 2-2.5 times more likely to cause severe disease in young persons. We are already seeing increasing community transmission of COVID-19.

2. Because 0% of our Pre-K-6th grade children are vaccinated, they are especially vulnerable. With no preventative strategies, Delta will move very efficiently through schools as demonstrated by the alarming rise in cases in the Southern states, causing illness, isolation and quarantines, school closures, and potentially severe infections in the pediatric population.

3. Multiple scientific reports demonstrate that masks, when used as part of a layered approach, are effective in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in schools. The Centers for Disease Control, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and American Academy of Pediatrics stand united in recommending that schools require universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.

4. This past academic year, we saw that with the universal use of masks in schools kept other viruses that cause similar symptoms to COVID-19 at bay. During the summer, as we decreased masking, we saw a return of some of these viruses. Without masks, spread of these viruses would result in a huge burden of COVID-19 testing, missed school, and disruption to education.

5. If the use of masks is left to individual choice, mask wearing will likely be inconsistent resulting in decreased protection for all. Also, if mask wearing is left to individual choice, this can cause negative psychological impacts for those who are, or are not, wearing masks, including bullying, intimidation, and other types of harassment. Teachers, who are already overburdened, are now tasked with remembering which parents want their students masked.

6. While children generally fare well when infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, there are exceptions. Throughout Michigan we have seen hospitalization and life support needed for healthy infants, children, and teens, as well as life-threatening post-infectious complications (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children) and chronic manifestations (Long COVID-19). Children can also pass the infection on to other community members, including breakthrough infections in vaccinated people. Children’s hospitals in many Southern states are near or at capacity due to COVID-19, also decreasing their ability to care for other children.

7. As of 8/25/2021, the 7-day positivity rate in Jackson county sits at 10.5% with 171 cases per 100,000 residents. Both are trending upwards. The CDC categorizes anything above 10% or over 100 cases per 100,000 residents as High COVID-19 transmission for a county. The strongest preventative measures are recommended for High transmission areas. As those charged with monitoring the situation and adjusting policy to meet the reality on the ground, you are likely already aware that Jackson county has crossed both thresholds. Either one would have been cause for action.

8 . As of 8/27/2021, approximately 203 Jackson County students and school staff are already quarantined due to Covid-19. We need to act now to reduce further spread and quarantine. When students and teachers are quarantined, it not only disrupts in-class learning for Jackson students but also has far reaching economic impacts. Sick students often have to be cared for by parents, pulling them away from work. Severely sick students have to be taken out of county for treatment. Additional costs associated with quarantined children is not limited to medical treatment, but also increased food, heating, cooling, childcare, and transportation costs. These additional costs are not easily managed with the average Jackson family's income. Additional time away from work is not easily managed by local businesses already stretched thin by the pandemic.

We fully support operating schools in person, especially for younger students, where in person education has been shown to be far superior to virtual or hybrid formats. To mitigate the significant transmission risk that in-person education poses to our children, educators, staff, and community at large, masking will help keep schools operational and healthy. Masking orders allow for the most normal functioning of school and associated activities until all families have the option and can make the choice to vaccinate their children.

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Signatures: 349Next Goal: 500
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Jackson County Health Department