South Carolina’s public health agency is reviewing “revised guidance” issued by the federal government this week related to coronavirus protocols for government-run schools this fall. According to the updated guidance – which was issued Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – a safe return to “in-person instruction in the fall 2021 is a priority.”
In an effort to facilitate this “safe return,” the agency says fully vaccinated students over the age of two (2) are allowed to shed their face coverings. Otherwise, “masks should be worn indoors … especially in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.”
Really? We are talking about school children here – most of whom are not even eligible to be vaccinated yet. Oh, and who have never been at significant risk of either contracting or spreading Covid-19.
Even at the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak, children were not transmitting the virus. Even Dr. Anthony Fauci – director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and arguably one of the most notorious Covid-19 fear-mongers – belatedly acknowledged in January that America should “keep the schools open” despite higher case numbers because “the spread among children and from children is not really very big at all.”
Of course, that didn’t stop über-liberal lobbying groups like “Red for Ed” from demanding that instruction remain exclusively virtual.
In South Carolina, governor Henry McMaster lifted a mask mandate at government-run schools back in May – just a few weeks before the end of the spring semester. Not surprisingly, liberal apoplexy ensued – with some districts announcing their intention to defy McMaster’s order.
Expect the same battle to play out next month as schools start reopening for the fall semester …
According to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), agency leaders are currently “preparing guidance for public schools across the state” – leaning heavily on the CDC for input.
Specifically, SCDHEC “is currently reviewing the (CDC) guidelines and will use them to draft the agency’s guidance for South Carolina’s schools,” according to a statement released late Friday. The statement also noted that SCDHEC “continues to work closely with the South Carolina Department of Education and will share the school guidelines once complete in the coming weeks.”
My view? This is not complicated. Covid-19 has all but vanished in the Palmetto State … meaning it is utterly ridiculous to continue requiring a segment of the population that was never spreading the virus in the first place to be subjected to additional “protocols.”
South Carolina schools do not need to waste time on further Covid-19 mitigation efforts. Instead, they need to focus their energies on improving the piss poor academic outcomes they continue to produce … a process which begins and ends with the sort of transformational reform that flows from real market-based accountability.
That’s my “guidance,” anyway …
*****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass player and a dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has LOTS of hats (including the above-pictured Carolina Mudcats’ lid).
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
BANNER VIA: GETTY IMAGES