Democrats are refusing to lift COVID-19 restrictions on children and schools nationwide, nearly two years after the start of the pandemic. They are even promoting tougher restrictions on children than adults in many cases.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate for schools and public places was struck down after a state Supreme Court judge ruled she did not have the authority to implement it and that it must go through the state Legislature. Hochul is “pursuing every option to reverse this immediately,” and New York is demanding schools continue to enforce the mandate as the state appeals.
?? My office is answering calls from constituents – specifically parents who are informing us that their kids are being kept from entering schools unless they are wearing masks. THIS IS ILLEGAL. THERE IS NO STAY ON THIS COURT RULING.
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) January 25, 2022
Rules for thee, but not for me!
Masks mandatory for kids, but apparently not required for Kathy Hochul! pic.twitter.com/53bRa57lTD
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) January 25, 2022
Hochul, while unmasked, touted the mandates for children and compared mandatory masks to wearing sneakers to school. Children “adapt better than adults do,” according to Hochul, mostly because they have no way of pushing back on absurd, authoritarian mandates against them.
MASK MANDATES FOR CHILDREN: Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) says: “My daughter had a meltdown about having to put sneakers on to go to kindergarten. She got used to wearing sneakers in school. They adapt better than adults do.” pic.twitter.com/pOYz3WY95i
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 21, 2022
Meanwhile, seven liberal school boards in Virginia are fighting against GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin over masks. Upon entering office, Youngkin signed an executive order preventing school districts from mandating masks for children. But voluntary masking isn’t enough for the anti-science zealots controlling Virginia schools in these districts. The zealots say children must wear masks at all times, and they are taking Youngkin to court to make that happen.
Then there is California. Despite the fact COVID-19 is less lethal for children than the flu based on every available data point, California Democrats want to signal just how seriously they treat COVID-19. A proposed bill would mandate vaccination for all K-12 students, with no opt-outs for personal beliefs. COVID-19 remains less dangerous for children than the flu, but California Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan wants you to think this is about safety and public health.
Democrats cannot let COVID-19 go, despite vaccines being readily available for nine months now. Children, who are at the least risk of any age group, are being used as pawns by Democratic politicians to show panicked liberals they still care about COVID-19. Their educations and social development are sacrificed for nothing more than political optics. “Science” is nowhere to be found in these decisions.
The overwhelming majority of children are not even moderately at severe risk from COVID-19, nor are they a risk to adults who can simply get vaccinated. Too many Democratic politicians refuse to let children return to any semblance of normalcy, even though they are at the least risk and adults have mostly returned to their normal lives. These politicians don’t want COVID-19 politics to end, and they will continue to take it out on children until they are forced, electorally or legally, to stand down.
