PONTIAC, Mich. (WWJ) -- Protesters gathered outside the Oakland County Health Division building in Pontiac Wednesday, voicing their opposition to the county’s mask mandate for all students ahead of the new school year.
Word came down Tuesday evening that all students ages 4 and up in all public and private elementary, middle, high or vocational schools in Oakland County would be required to wear masks while in school, regardless of vaccination status. The mandate also applies to daycares.
Disgruntled parents gathered Wednesday in opposition of Emergency Health Order 2021-1, which one parent, Greg Ferndandez, says goes against what Michiganders were told by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the governor said she was leaving it up to the districts to decide,” Fernandez told WWJ’s Mike Campbell at the protest. “We as parents had no choice in the matter. My daughter was in tears last night about this decision. This is utter garbage that we are not allowed to make this decision.”
Protesters, many of whom are upset that they don't get to make the choice themselves, urged cars passing by to honk and listen to speakers as they addressed a crowd of about 150 people armed with signs reading the likes of “my child will not wear your fear,” “my child, my choice,” and “less depression, more smiles.”
One sign in particular targeted Oakland County’s top official, reading “Dave Coulter must resign.”
Coulter announced the mandate Tuesday and spoke live on WWJ Wednesday morning, saying he understands that parents are angry and upset with the decision, but he still feels it was the right one.
“Our whole goal is to make sure that we don’t go from in-person back to virtual, back to in-person,” Coulter said on WWJ. “Our school districts are not set up as well right now for the virtual learning as they were last year. Our goal is just to try to keep as many kids in the classroom, as safely as possible.”
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Coulter says the order will remain in effect until community transmission for Oakland County is categorized as “moderate” by the CDC for at least two weeks or the Oakland County Health Officer determines masks aren't necessary.
The countywide mandate comes as the state continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as is the case in many parts of the country. The Delta variant, which health officials is more contagious and can cause more severe symptoms, has become the dominant strain of the virus that has gripped the world for more than 17 months.
COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are increasing among children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). A report from the AAP said over 180,000 children tested positive nationwide between the week of August 12 and August 19, an increase of 60,000 over the previous week.
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists Oakland County at "substantial risk" for transmission of the virus (the second worst level), especially the Delta variant. The Oakland County Health Department said, of the more than 2,700 cases reported in the first two weeks of August, about one in six were among school-aged children.
Coulter, who feels there should be a federal mandate for students to wear masks given the surge in cases among younger people, says he feels the decision was made at the right time, ahead of the school year.
“People are very concerned about what could happen, the transmission that can happen. We’re already a high-transmission county, and that’s the point of this order,” Coulter said. “When we get back to being a moderate-transmission county, as defined by the CDC, we’ll rescind the order just as soon as we can.”
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Most students saw their school years cut short by the coronavirus in 2020, while many school districts alternated between in-person and remote learning throughout the 2020-21 school year.
Walled Lake Western High School was among the first in the state to begin the new year Wednesday, with students returning to the building just hours after the county’s new mandate.
Walker Evans, who is starting his senior year at the school, told Campbell “I’m not rockin’ with it. I don’t like it.”
Evans, who got vaccinated earlier this year, says he hasn’t worn a mask since getting the shot, and feels as young people, students “don’t really need” to wear masks.
As for what he’ll do if a teacher tells him he needs to mask up, Evans says “I don’t know, I don’t really feel like getting in trouble today, so I might, but if other people aren’t, I probably won’t.”
Tracey Zimmerman, a parent of multiple kids in the Clarkston Community School District, said at Wednesday’s protest, her daughter, entering her senior year, was sobbing after hearing the news Tuesday night.
“Sobbing. She doesn’t want to have to go to school because she doesn’t want to have to wear it,” Zimmerman said. “What about the psychological effects it’s going to have on our kids for years to come? The kids that are going to be terrified to go outside because they don’t know what’s going to happen to them. ‘Oh, my god I’ve got to wear a mask because I’m going to die if I don’t.’ Kids think that -- they don’t know.”
While some schools in Oakland County have started their new school years this week, most other districts across the state are slated to begin classes next week.
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