DETROIT – Michigan is allowing individual school districts and county health departments to make their own policies.
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“All I am trying to say is we, as parents, should have a choice,” said Melissa Gordon. “Why are there mandates? Like, if you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you want your kids to wear one at school, great. If you don’t, that’s fine too.”
Gordon, a Warren mother, took to social media to express her frustration. Warren Consolidated Schools doesn’t have a mask mandate, but she thinks that might change.
“I don’t want my kids in masks all day,” Gordon said.
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services all have data that show that children wearing masks at school will slow the spread of COVID-19.
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It is a hotly contested decision that is being made on the local level. As of Thursday, Aug. 19, about 60 school districts across the state have implemented mask mandates.
If there is a wave of COVID once the 2021-22 school year starts, county health leaders said they can mandate masks on a county level.
More: Michigan COVID news