Advocate to Relax Children's COVID Mask Rules for Recess, Youth Sports, and Summer Camps in California
Our understanding of COVID-19 has increased drastically over the past 15 months, and we are now able to make decisions for ourselves and our families based on hard data instead of fear. When it comes to outdoor transmission of COVID-19 the science is clear: it is exceedingly rare. Therefore, there is no scientific rationale to support masking children outdoors or during sports. Masking children outdoors where transmission is almost non-existent is a gross overreaction, especially considering the risks of overheating, headaches, dizziness, and shortness of breath that children can suffer by being masked while playing hard.
Many states now allow children to play freely without masking, and more and more health professionals are vocalizing their concerns about damage to kids’ mental and physical health when we insist they mask up outside. This is why we are asking Governor Newsom and our local elected officials to stop unnecessarily masking our children. We must immediately allow kids to go without their masks when they’re outside. They need to be allowed to socialize naturally with their peers again and get moving in healthy ways to bring back a sense of normalcy to their young lives.
On May 11, 2021, The New York Times reported that outdoor transmission of COVID-19 appears to be below 1% and may be below 0.1%. This has been confirmed by multiple epidemiologists. In the same article, the Times states, “There is not a single documented Covid infection anywhere in the world from casual outdoor interactions, such as walking past someone on a street or eating at a nearby table.” So why do we continue to treat outdoor transmission as a major risk, especially for children?
The low outdoor transmissibility of COVID-19, paired with California’s high vaccination rate and plummeting case count, means it is now time to eliminate outdoor masking requirements for children during recess, youth sports, and other outdoor activities. Our children have suffered immeasurably during this pandemic. Now that we can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, it’s time to return our kids to a semblance of normalcy. We ask our elected officials to advocate for our children by standing up for our kids, standing up for science, and standing up for our parental rights to make decisions about our childrens’ health and bodies.
Advocate to Relax Children's COVID Mask Rules for Recess, Youth Sports, and Summer Camps in California
Our understanding of COVID-19 has increased drastically over the past 15 months, and we are now able to make decisions for ourselves and our families based on hard data instead of fear. When it comes to outdoor transmission of COVID-19 the science is clear: it is exceedingly rare. Therefore, there is no scientific rationale to support masking children outdoors or during sports. Masking children outdoors where transmission is almost non-existent is a gross overreaction, especially considering the risks of overheating, headaches, dizziness, and shortness of breath that children can suffer by being masked while playing hard.
Many states now allow children to play freely without masking, and more and more health professionals are vocalizing their concerns about damage to kids’ mental and physical health when we insist they mask up outside. This is why we are asking Governor Newsom and our local elected officials to stop unnecessarily masking our children. We must immediately allow kids to go without their masks when they’re outside. They need to be allowed to socialize naturally with their peers again and get moving in healthy ways to bring back a sense of normalcy to their young lives.
On May 11, 2021, The New York Times reported that outdoor transmission of COVID-19 appears to be below 1% and may be below 0.1%. This has been confirmed by multiple epidemiologists. In the same article, the Times states, “There is not a single documented Covid infection anywhere in the world from casual outdoor interactions, such as walking past someone on a street or eating at a nearby table.” So why do we continue to treat outdoor transmission as a major risk, especially for children?
The low outdoor transmissibility of COVID-19, paired with California’s high vaccination rate and plummeting case count, means it is now time to eliminate outdoor masking requirements for children during recess, youth sports, and other outdoor activities. Our children have suffered immeasurably during this pandemic. Now that we can see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, it’s time to return our kids to a semblance of normalcy. We ask our elected officials to advocate for our children by standing up for our kids, standing up for science, and standing up for our parental rights to make decisions about our childrens’ health and bodies.