LIHU‘E — An anticipated group of more than three dozen people was expected at a sign-waving rally decrying the required wearing of face masks by school students in an indoor setting Wednesday.
“This is part of a statewide effort,” said For Our Right CEO and President Levana Lomma. “Supporters statewide will be doing the same at various locations to voice our concerns over the continued mask policy for all Hawai‘i public schools.”
The state Department of Education, in a letter to parents and facilities by Interim Superintendent Keith Hayashi, said “while we are eager to return to normalcy, we will continue to implement universal indoor masking in schools through Friday, May 27, the last day for teachers.”
“Hawai‘i is one of only a few states where students are still required to wear a mask even after the end of the governor’s declaring the end of the emergency” Lomma said. “Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control has dropped its recommendation for indoor masking, including for schools. We are protesting this continuing infringement on our children’s civil liberties, hoping to sway policy makers to reconsider.”
Additionally, a federal judge overturned the mask mandates on airplanes and other public vehicles, making the wearing of masks optional for riders. The U.S. Department of Justice at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is appealing the judge’s ruling.
“Our children should have been the first to be allowed to breathe,” Lomma said. “Where is the science in all this?”
Hayashi’s letter, dated April 22, states, “with extensive scientific literature supporting the effectiveness of masking to reduce COVID-19 transmission in schools and other settings, the state Department of Health still highly recommends that masks be worn indoors at all times at schools.”
He further said that under the DOH’s guidance for schools, individual close contact identification and notification and quarantine of in-school exposures is no longer required only if universal indoor masking is implemented.
“This major shift in quarantine guidance aligns with our ongoing priority of maintaining in-person learning students,” Hayashi said. “We have been working very closely with DOH since the beginning of the pandemic, and this partnership has kept our schools safe and open for in-person learning through the height of the pandemic. As we cautiously transition back to normal, we continue to rely on the guidance and expertise of our local health officials.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
