ALLEGAN MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Allegan County is the latest to rescind the mandate regarding students in grades K-6 wearing masks.
The decision follows Berrien County’s, in removing the mask order. County health officials across the state for the most part issued mask mandates, despite loud protests from some quarters. County commissioners are barred from altering county health mandates, or punitively firing health officers for such efforts. But Republican lawmakers in Lansing embedded the ban in the most-recent budget, with a threat of each county losing millions of dollars in funding.
Allegan County Health announced Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, the decision, which “regretfully rescinds the public health order requiring the use of masks for individuals in kindergarten through grade 6 educational settings – or face a loss of over $1 million in our total budget.”
The decision, effective yesterday, arrives as the county also reports a positive COVID-19 test rate of 11.5 percent. Medical professionals say 2 percent is a manageable number; anything higher stressing the healthcare infrastructure. Spectrum Health reports at least 200 patients admitted for severe COVID-19 symptoms as of Thursday afternoon. Bronson Health reports 53 such patients. Of the 14 in ICU and the five on ventilators, none are vaccinated.
In making the announcement, Allegan County health officials noted the masks are known to be “an effective evidenced-based mitigation strategy to reduce risk of transmission for vulnerable populations in school settings…”
In Allegan County, the number of COVID-19 cases for those under the age of 19 has spiked since mid-August.
Senate Bill 82, section 1222 part 4, state that any health department that has issued an emergency order under MCL 333.2453 in attempt to combat COVID-19 will lose funding for essential local public health services.
Section 250 of the bill bars a local health officer from issuing or enforcing any orders or other directives requiring an individual18 years or younger to wear a face mask or face covering.
In signing the budget bills into law, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer noted Senate Bill 82 is unconstitutional, but Allegan County health officials say they are following advice from the county’s legal counsel that they must follow new rules until they are otherwise proven unconstitutional in court.
The county faces losing funding for essential local public health services, such as immunizations, infectious disease control, sexually transmitted disease control and prevention, hearing screening, vision services, food protection, public water supply, private groundwater supply, and on-site sewage management.
Allgan County’s health officials appealed to the county commission to pass a supportive resolution in favor of the mask mandates. That board unanimously voted to acknowledge receipt of the message and include it in the official record, but declined to support the health officials’ request.
“The decision to rescind the K-6 Mask Requirement was not made lightly and has challenged us ethically, professionally, and personally,” states Health Officer, Angelique Joynes, MPH, RN. “However, we cannot risk our essential local public health services funding, which is around $1 million of our total budget and provides the ability for us to continue to offer those services.”
Individual school districts can still maintain mask requirements for school-aged children.
“Our children are a vulnerable population where it is incredibly important to layer all effective mitigation strategies – which includes universal masking in the school setting – to protect them,” explains ACHD Medical Director Dr. Richard Tooker. “We strongly recommend all local boards of education and school leaders to adopt evidence-based public health practices and put a universal masking requirement in place within their school settings to continue protecting their students and staff from the ongoing risk of COVID-19.”
Wearing face masks continues to be an effective way at reducing spread of COVID-19. Allegan County health officials are also encouraging “social distancing, frequent hand washing, screening/testing, vaccination, and improving building ventilation, especially in-door settings such as schools.”
Allegan County health officials noted they’ll continue providing COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, and health education/recommendations to the public.
Learn more at www.allegancounty.org/covid.
Peg McNichol contributed to this story.
