Letter to the Editor - Masks: one of the three best defenses in modern germ warfare

Editor,

I’m a CASA volunteer and a Havre Public School bus driver.

In each of these positions, I am not only entrusted with helping ensure children’s safety. I am also required by law to report instances of suspected child neglect and abuse as I see them.

The most egregious offenses are those that negligently threaten children’s well-being and safety and those that abusively deny protections that place children in jeopardy. These can include the absence of proper clothing for weather conditions, proper diet for healthy development, and access to education and age-appropriate activities, as well as exposure to criminal elements.

I have two questions for social services, law enforcement and the courts in regard to COVID-19 and the delta variant.

Are parents guilty of negligence for failing to provide children with masks and to teach them to wear the masks properly?

Are parents and other adults guilty of abuse for demanding that children not be required to wear masks in enclosed quarters with very little social distancing?

Drivers frequently refer to their buses as “germ factories” and “petri dishes” because of the back-and-forth exchange of germs and sicknesses between us and our riders.

After suffering nearly monthly bouts of the common cold during my first four years as a driver, I have not suffered a single cold-related sneeze, sniffle or cough since wearing my mask religiously. Surprisingly, my youthful riders are quick to put the masks on and keep them on until the end of their rides.

We have a federal mandate requiring students to be masked while on school buses. While a mandate is an executive order and a law is a legislative act, they each carry the weight of the law and are identically enforceable.

When are prosecutions appropriate for people who insist on flouting the requirements intended to keep our children and themselves safe?

• Kids have accounted for more than 30 percent of new coronavirus cases nationwide in recent weeks, and the percentage continues to rise. 

• More than 1 in every 500 Americans have died of COVID. 

• More than 1 in every 336 residents of Hill County have died of COVID. 

• More than 1 in every 280 Blaine County residents have died of COVID.

    When is enough enough, and when does enforcement take effect?

Sincerely,

Alan Sorensen

Havre