On September 22, Superintendent David Blackburn released the following statement:
Dear Salida Community,
Fourteen days ago we required masks to be worn at school. We want to first thank students, family, and staff for supporting the response. We understand not everyone agrees, and we appreciate the respectful manner in which parents have brought their opposing viewpoints forward. These issues connected to COVID-19 response are not linear, they are not singular, and they are not black and white. The conditions are changing constantly and our response will as well.
Fourteen days ago we had two clusters of cases appear at the high school, which required further investigation. I am happy to report that the transmission was not in our classrooms. In both cases, the transmission occurred during social interactions outside of school. In addition, our positive cases are down. In the last two days, we have tested approximately 300 student-athletes and all continue to be negative. We continue to test any families interested in testing and/or symptomatic students. We continue to see no school transmission. Your schools are safe.
Image by William Wooddell.
In general, I support a mask mandate, but the current local school data does not support this requirement. On Monday, September 27, the schools will encourage all to wear masks, but not require it. We will continue to require masking of all guests and all individuals during inside extracurricular events, with the only exception being athletes on the court. If the local data about our school changes, we will change. I will continue to wear a mask at school, and the best general advice is to wear one.
As we have planned, and found success last year, when risks increase we will add layers of protection, including masks. The opposite has to also be true, that when risks decrease our response will loosen. Not everyone agrees with this decision, and as we know better we will do better.
This is a bad decision that harms responsible residents who pay the price while irresponsible and misinformed continue to spread COVID. My partner works in a public facing job in a very busy store taking money and is met by most local customers with ‘Should I be wearing a mask?’ every time they enter the store when it is obviously too late. These people know better but still will not do what they know is right unless someone makes them. Now he is met by those who ‘just got over a horrible head cold’ and come into the store without masks as his boss did when sick for 2 weeks. They will not get tested. They do not even consider the possibility that they may have COVID because they are ‘young and healthy and have a good immune system’. They do not isolate or mask up or my partner would not be hearing these stories. They have not even heard any of the suggestions from the health department or the information about the variants and make ridiculous arguments about masks that come from information packets from misinformed ‘experts’ spreading misinformation and COVID with ignorance. Relying on honor to prevent the spread of a deadly virus and variants is a large risk to take given what we have seen from this community so set against masks and distancing that we go nowhere near town. Again, those who are causing the problems are rewarded while those who work for the good of the community are punished. I think sacrificing the majority for the irrational beliefs of the minority is a huge mistake and we will pay the price as a community because of the wilful ignorance of a few, very loud voices who do not use facts to make decisions, but prejudice and lies that support it.
A clarification: This decision and this story are only about the public school district. It has nothing to do with community businesses, which are not under fact mask mandates unless they decide as a business to enforce facemask wearing on their own business premises.