OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Stacy Antinarella said her son is not old enough to get the vaccine which is why she made the choice to mask him up in school. She’s glad to hear the option still stands on the table.
“I think it’s hard on kids to always have to wear them. I feel like maybe it shouldn’t be mandatory, but I would have my child wear them still,” Antinarella said.
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The Osceola County School board decided to not make any changes to their 30-day mask mandate after a heated debate during a board meeting on Monday. The district said parents will still have the option to opt-out, but some parents don’t agree with that.
“It’s not about rights of people. It’s about the safety of our children and masks were proven by CDC to say that they’re safe and help stop the spread of the virus,” Gary Stone said.
Last week, Celebration K-8 had to shut down due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The school opened back up on Monday.
“All of the sudden there were kids coming here without masks and some were wearing masks,” Imzack Gahnny said.
Gahnny was dropping off his sons at Celebration K-8 on Tuesday. He explained both are vaccinated but are still wearing their masks in school.
In Brevard County, the school board voted to mandate masks for all students for 30 days. The new rule took effect on Tuesday.
The district’s dashboard reported 520 COVID-19 cases and more than 2,700 quarantines since Aug. 27.
The Volusia County school board is set to meet on Tuesday night to consider similar changes.