'Very Frustrating': Crown Point Parents Worry About Mask Optional Rule At Schools As COVID Case Numbers Are Rising
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Maryland joins the list of states with cases of the new omicron COVID variant.
Three people, all in the Baltimore area, tested positive. One person recently traveled to South Africa. Meanwhile, a new study found that omicron is at least two times more likely to re-infect COVID-19 survivors, compared to other variants.
With that new variant, and case numbers rising, one Indiana school district is about to make a surprising move by lifting its mask mandate. CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reports from Crown Point where the entire district will become mask optional next week.
The mask optional policy goes into effect on Monday, impacting more than 9,800 students and staff. The school board here made that decision on November 22. Some parents are very concerned, especially considering COVID cases have been going up county and district wide.
"It's definitely very frustrating."
Brent Houlding's two young children attend grade school in Crown Point's Community Corporation District. Come Monday, he said he'll have no choice but to limit who they see and what they do, even further.
"We're trying to avoid any situations where they are mask-less with any other students. We're just avoiding extracurricular activities," Houlding said.
Monday will be the first day of the district's new mask optional policy. Houlding finds it especially troubling as Lake County COVID cases are now rising and health officials nationwide are expressing concern about the omicron variant.
"Just the fact that holiday season is coming up. It's a very weird time to be doing it. My worst fear is that kids are going to catch it and then bring it to holiday gatherings with their families, grandparents. People who might be at risk and avoiding seeing otherwise," Houlding said.
District cases have been steadily increasing since late October as well, with a dip this week. In Lake County, the positivity rate is at nearly 12%.
The district sent families a letter right before Thanksgiving, notifying them of the change and citing data showing little to no COVID transmission inside the schools as one reason. There are certainly two sides to this often divisive issue, but Houlding is one parent, on one side, who believes this isn't the time for this change.
"We're just going to the board meetings, being vocal, and potentially trying to change the makeup of our local school board to hopefully be more receptive in these kinds of situations," Houlding said.
Lake County's positivity rate right now is 11.9% and rising. There is a trigger in place for a temporary mask mandate to be reinstated, and that is if 2% of a school buildings entire population is infected. Then masks would be required for 14 days.
