By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

As both pro and against masks supporters protested in Kent County, Kent County Health Department Administrative Health Officer Adam London issued a statement announcing he had no plans at this time to issue a mask mandate.

 

“…I am not issuing a public health order mandating masks in the schools at this time,” London said in the three-page release. “This decision is due to the reality that not all options have been exhausted to prevent the danger before us.

“The schools and the parents have even a greater power than the health department to protect the children and the community in this instance.”

London said the challenge facing many communities across the nation is indeed severe. The Delta variant spreads many times quicker than the original form of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevent has estimated that upwards of 83 percent of all new COVID cases in the U.S. are the Delta variant.

According to London, a person infected with the the Delta variant will, on average, spread that infection to between five and nine others compared to the original form which spreads to two or thee other people. The current surge in new COVID cases began in the southern states and is rapidly advancing across the nation.

“Sadly, there has also been a steep incline in the number of pediatric COVID cases reported over the past six weeks from about 8,400 per week to almost 94,000 last week,” he said, adding that pediatricians are also increasingly concerned about multi system inflammatory syndrome, which can be serious, even deadly inflammation of a child’s internal organs, and also the chronic effects of long-term COVID.

According to Kent County Health Department information, in Michigan, the new COVID cases has risen from 11 per day in early July to 86 per day this week. The rate of which COVID tests are found to be positive has increased from 2 percent to 7.3 percent during that same timeframe.

“At this time, I am presenting the community with the highest recommendation possible that schools and the parents require adherence to the guidance of the CDC, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the Kent County Health Department,” London said in his statement. “Above all, I expect that the children under the age of 12, who are not yet eligible for vaccine, are protected through mask use and other proven prevention strategies.”

For up-to-date information on COVID and related issues, visit the Kent County Health Department’s website 

Comments

comments