A group of parents are disappointed with the COVID-19 protocols of the Cobb County School District.
The district withdrew its mandatory mask mandate, later it instituted a more lax quarantine policy.
According to ProPublica, a parent contacted the district to express her concerns about what she saw as a lack of appropriate measures taken to fight the threats associated with the Delta variant prior to the beginning of the school year.
“Sure, it’s more contagious,” she was reportedly told by Cobb County School Board Chairman Randy Scamihorn. “But it’s less lethal and, uh, probably it’s more like a head cold.”
A mother of a high school student in the district, who referred to remain anonymous, submitted a phone call she recorded with Scamihorn where he allegedly discredited the accuracy of the numbers being reported and began to blame the problem on immigration.
Parents and educators gave their accounts of what they say happened when school started. One parent expressed her concerns about the mandate impacting her children.
“My husband actually drew a map, sitting down with my son, saying, “Tell me where you sit … and tell me [on] the map which kid is wearing a mask around you.” So four kids around him didn’t have a mask. My son is the [only] one who’s wearing a mask,” said Saumi Riaz. Two of her fifth grade twins were reportedly infected by COVID-19.
She described their symptoms as including an incessant shivering and said their coloring was “red as a tomato.”
“Our kids made it from last February until [August] of this year without getting COVID. Three days in school, [two of them] got COVID,” said her husband Faisal Riaz.
A spokesperson for the Cobb County School District commented on the allegations.
“Cobb’s updated Public Health Protocols, which strongly encourage masks for students and staff and social distancing in classrooms and school buildings when appropriate and feasible, are intended to balance the importance of in-person learning and the frequent changes associated with COVID-19, and we will continue to update our school protocols accordingly.”
For the full story, read here or visit ProPublica.org.