‘The time to stand up is now': Patriots for Delaware rally against masks for students

By Leann Schenke
Posted 8/11/21

SMYRNA — It was all about the freedom to choose for those gathered outside Smyrna Diner Wednesday evening.

Advertised as an emergency meeting organized by the group Patriots for Delaware, …

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‘The time to stand up is now': Patriots for Delaware rally against masks for students

Posted

SMYRNA — It was all about the freedom to choose for those gathered outside Smyrna Diner Wednesday evening.

Advertised as an emergency meeting organized by the group Patriots for Delaware, members of the public gathered in protest near the diner against Gov. John Carney’s mandate requiring masks for students as COVID-19 numbers surge in the state.

The meeting was originally scheduled to be held inside Smyrna Diner, but was moved outdoors due to an expected high turnout.
Many of those gathered said it should be up to parents to choose if their children should wear masks in school or not.

“We’re tired of the treason our government is committing,” one attendee said. “Government overreach is ruining lives.”

The meeting came a day after Gov. Carney announced that students from kindergarten through 12th grades must wear face coverings indoors in schools and at child care centers. The mask mandate goes into effect Monday, Aug. 16, regardless of vaccination status.

“We cannot sit idly by while (Gov. Carney) knowingly passes unconstitutional mandates that are detrimental to our children’s physical and mental health,” a flyer for the meeting read. “The time to stand up is now.”

The meeting saw speakers ask those gathered to attend school board meetings and protest the mask mandate. One speaker suggested students walk out of their classes in protest.

The mask mandate applies to both public and private schools in Delaware. Child care homes and centers are strongly encouraged to require masks for children age 2 to kindergarten age while inside. Masks are not advised for children younger than 2 years old due to risk of suffocation.

Gov. Carney’s office said the mandate is consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The mandate comes as all three Delaware counties are experiencing high levels of COVID-19 spread, according to CDC data.

For parent Kim Petters of Magnolia, the decision to mask or unmask students should be determined by school boards or the “lowest levels” of government where the public has more of a chance to provide direct input — rather than a mandate that comes down from the governor.

She said after a summer with fewer restrictions, students should not be made to wear masks in school this fall.

“If it is safe for our children to go to the fair and be in summer camps and go to restaurants and skating rinks and malls, then it’s safe to go to school without a mask,” Ms. Petters said.

Ms. Petters has four children who attend schools in Capital School District. She called the precautions unnecessary and a distraction from education.

Ms. Petters said teachers can become preoccupied with masks over their students’ education. She said her daughter told her a story of another student getting hurt, but the teacher was more concerned with the student pulling up her mask than if the student was OK.

“It’s like the kids actually have panic and paranoia (over masks). Masks have become the focus and priority over everything else,” Ms. Petters said.

Sussex County resident Bill Hopkins, who is associated with the Patriots for Delaware group, said the emergency meeting came about after friends and family reached out to the group demanding action against the mask mandate.

“The people organized it,” Mr. Hopkins said.

Mr. Hopkins said he has six grandchildren who were all pulled out of public school during the last school year in favor of homeschooling after having negative experiences with remote learning.

“There is no ‘online learning,’” he said.

Mr. Hopkins also was critical of the effectiveness of masks in preventing COVID-19, which was echoed by other people gathered at the event.

Mr. Hopkins said parents should have the choice to mask their children.

Adam Brownstein, a doctor who practices with Beebe Family Medicine in Milton and serves on the Milford School Board, also said the decision to mask should be left to parents. He said he is not opposed to masks, but rather that parents were not allowed to have a say in the decision to require masks in schools.

“Everyone that’s here is here because they’re concerned about the masks, which is often conflated with ‘we don’t want anyone wearing a mask,’” he said. “What we want is for each individual parent to make that choice for their particular child.”

Dr. Brownstein also was critical of what he identified as a lack of discussion before the mask mandate was announced.

“Throughout this entire pandemic, rarely are there discussions where people with opposing points of views who are educated are allowed to engage in that debate,” he said.

Dr. Brownstein pushed against the idea of eradicating COVID-19, saying “it’s here forever.”

“Part of my philosophy and what I tell my patients is we need to have some sort of plan that involves adaptation, not elimination,” he said. “I think that’s reasonable because this is not like smallpox … we’re never going to be able to eliminate it, even through vaccination.”

In neighboring Maryland, there is no statewide mask mandate for schools, though many of the state’s public school districts are individually beginning the school year with mask mandates.

New Jersey students will return to school wearing masks, but not Pennsylvania’s students.

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