SAN RAMON, Calif. (KRON) -- Schools in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District are opening in-person for the first day of class on Tuesday, but the return comes with some controversy.
California is requiring public schools to enforce mask-wearing while inside school buildings for students and staff. When outdoors, masks aren't necessary.
However, some San Ramon parents are against the mask mandate. They even protested during a school board meeting last week, during which police had to be called.
The parents who demonstrated are a part of a nationwide grassroots movement called “Let them breathe.”
“They are almost everywhere else without a mask, and I would not be comfortable with them in class with a mask on,” one parent, Courtney Pronin, said to KRON4.
This is despite a new surge in COVID-19 cases, with mostly unvaccinated Americans being most harmed. Children under the age of 12 are not yet eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Due to the circulating and highly contagious Delta variant, CDC recommends universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status," guidance on the CDC's website says, last updated on August 5.
With COVID-19 cases increasing nationally since mid-June 2021, driven by the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant of SARS-CoV-2, protection against exposure remains essential in school settings.
Because of the highly transmissible nature of this variant, along with the extent of mixing of vaccinated and unvaccinated people in schools, the fact that children <12 years of age are not currently eligible for vaccination, and low levels of vaccination among youth ages 12-17, CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all students (age 2 years and older), teachers, staff, and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The superintendent of San Ramon Valley Unified said its students were also given a virtual learning option.
KRON4's Will Tran is interviewing the superintendent once the school day begins. This story will be updated.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/2VIgELl
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