Wilson County Schools to Implement Mask Mandate

The Wilson County School Board met last night (9/2/21) and discussed COVID-19 mitigation strategies. As the Tennessean reports, the Board adopted a mask mandate that will go into effect on Friday (9/10/21). The move comes after a group of parents, doctors, and concerned citizens called on the Board to adopt a universal mask mandate.

Wilson County students returned to the classroom after a 10-day break during which time there was no online learning available, interrupting students’ education at the beginning of the year.

Right now, in Wilson County, at least 1 in 5 people tested are infected with COVID. Over the past 14 days, 579 students have tested positive for COVID, and thousands more have had to quarantine.

“Our children want to be in school,” said Laura Maben, a Wilson County parent and board certified family nurse practitioner. “My child wants to be with friends.”

Ms. Maben, who also provides health care as an emergency room nurse, continued, “I am asking the Wilson County School Board to protect the students they are charged to care for! Otherwise, parents will be left to deal with this pandemic on their own as schools open and close, children are left without virtual learning support, and parents are forced to juggle work schedules or miss work entirely.”

Tennessee has led the nation in daily new positive cases per 100,000, surpassing numbers not even seen during the highest points of the pandemic.

Caroline Cooper Huddleston, also a Wilson County parent of an elementary school student, added, “Around the world, people are looking at us, the Volunteer State, where we pride ourselves on caring for one another, and asking ‘how on earth did this happen?’”

Ms. Huddleston also leads a parent group, Wilson County Parents for Truth. “In Tennessee, school districts have had to contend with constantly changing and obfuscated guidance from Gov. Bill Lee and the Departments of Health and Education,” she said.. “They have been left to interpret changing signals veiled behind politically motivated statements. I do not envy the position school districts in our state are in.” However, for the Wilson County school board to use the lack of guidance as an excuse for not strengthening virus mitigation policies is simply unacceptable,” Ms. Huddleston concluded.

Dr. Amy Gordon Bono, MD, MPH, a primary care physician, said, “All children deserve to…