Barry County residents protest mask mandates during Board of Commissioners meeting
HASTINGS, Mich. — Barry County residents came together Tuesday to protest mask mandates in schools.
During a Barry County Board of Commissioners meeting, protesters spoke against the Barry-Eaton District Health Department's decision.
"We should all be ashamed of ourselves," one protester said. "We are adults teaching children to be good little collectivists. To listen to mandates and rules and regulations that make no sense whatsoever."
On Friday, the health department issued a requirement for all students and staff to wear a mask in the counties' schools.
The order is expected to take effect starting Wednesday.
On Monday, state health officials reported ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at five Barry County schools, all involving students.
Health Promotion Director Anne Barna told News Channel 3 in an interview Monday that the department implemented the mandate to prevent further outbreaks.
"From a public health perspective, we have to follow the science as well as what we are seeing on the ground in the school buildings and we are seeing that schools that don’t have these policies in place, have a dramatic increase in the spread of COVID-19," Barna said.
Barna said the courts could get involved if schools refused to comply with the order.
"The benefit for those school districts that are complying with these orders is that there will be fewer cases of COVID-19 and fewer disruptions to their classrooms environments," she said.