Last week the Greene County School Board voted down a motion that would have required teachers, staff and students to wear face masks, and individuals in the medical community are speaking out.
The motion to require masks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 was made by the School Board Vice-President and retired physician Dr. Steve Karber and Board member Mike Dennhardt voted in favor of it. However, the measure ultimately failed with Board President Steve Fisher, and Board members John McConnell and Catherine Wilson voting against it. Greene County Public Health Director Becky Wolf tells Raccoon Valley Radio she was disappointed in the Board’s decision to not require masks.
Greene County Medical Center Family Practice Physician Dr. Laurie Connolly echoes Wolf’s sentiment.
“My first reaction was utter fiery, to be quite honest. I thought it was a very irresponsible decision on the part of the Board. I was very upset that they did not listen to the advice of a retired physician who sits on the Board. He would be – due to his training and education – an expert in this arena.”
Infection Prevention Nurse at Greene County Medical Center Heather Kinsey has children in the school district and says multiple health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Iowa Board of Medicine, the American Nurses Association are telling people to wear a mask. She shares possible situations her daughter could face when in school.
“My daughter, she wears it all the time without me asking her. But when she goes to school and she is one of a few wearing it, that unsaid peer pressure of being the minority of wearing a mask because they’re not supposed to, she’s not going to continue to wear that mask when the rest of the kids are not.”
The Board did approve a three-tier system for recommending and requiring masks. Click the link below to see the mask system.