Philadelphia schools have just instituted a new policy: two weeks to stop the spread!
The district has implemented mandatory masking for students for just the first two weeks of school. The district released its new mask policy last Friday for the new year. The new academic year begins on Aug. 29.
According to the school’s new policies, students and staff in every school are required to wear masks through Sept. 9 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from end-of-summer parties or social functions. This is despite the fact that according to the most recent CDC recommendations, COVID-19 levels in the city do not call for mask-wearing. The new guidelines were announced on the school district’s website.
“For the first 10 days of the new school year — from August 29 through September 9 – all students and staff will be required to wear masks while in school, regardless of the COVID-19 Community Level,” the announcement read. “This is an extra precaution for everyone’s health and well-being since increased end-of-summer social gatherings may heighten the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Masking may then become optional under specific circumstances.”
People should take note of this announcement because it clearly indicates that the school district is, once again, making up its own science. It mandates everyone to wear masks “regardless of the COVID-19 Community Level.” But this indicates that it is ignoring the science from the CDC and other experts in the area. It is the second time the school district has done this in the past four months.
During the last few weeks of the 2021-2022 school year, the district inexplicably ordered everyone to wear masks again. COVID-19 levels in the city did not require mask-wearing, according to CDC data, and there were only 14 school days left in the year.
So, the question is: At what point do we stop believing the experts?
We have gone from “trust the science” to “making up science” predicated on the whims of decision-makers’ paranoia in the Philadelphia school district. No one wants to see an outbreak in Philadelphia schools. Still, given that they are ignoring data even from the CDC, after the city’s previous errors during the pandemic, no one should believe there is any scientific basis for these decisions.
