Fists were "flying" and doctors were "shoved" on Monday after a mask mandate was announced at the Lee County School District board meeting in Florida, reports NBC News affiliate NBC-2. Sheriff's deputies were called in to break up the fights.
The majority of parents who spoke at the meeting were against the mask mandate. One man somehow connected the mandate to child sex trafficking, claiming, "by putting masks on these kids' face, you can't identify any of 'em, so by the nine of you [school board officials] voting already on this, tells me you guys support sex trafficking." A woman, wearing a 'My Body, My Choice' sticker, argued that kids "eat their masks."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If students or faculty do not honor the mask mandate there may be "disciplinary actions depending on the situation," writes NBC-2. The 30-day mandate is in response to Florida's increasing COVID-19 infections and death toll, though 14,000 students have reportedly been opted out of the mandate using a medical opt-out option.
-
Political cartoons for October 29Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include gerrymandered voters, taking aim at Venezuela, and banishing the Blue Jays
-
Is the ceasefire in Gaza really working?Today's Big Question Neither Israel and Hamas has an interest in a full return to hostilities but ‘brutally simple arithmetic’ in region may scupper peace plan long-term
-
Are boomers the real phone addicts?In The Spotlight There’s an ‘explosion in screentime’ among older people – and they’re more vulnerable to misinformation
-
Covid-19 mRNA vaccines could help fight cancerUnder the radar They boost the immune system
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
