It’s time to take the masks off our children. Millions of Americans have already been vaccinated, and vaccines are now available to anyone who wants one. The early days where we were still learning about this virus are over, and hospitals are in no danger of being overwhelmed.
Forcing kids as young as three and four years old to wear masks was bad policy from the beginning. I’m running for Governor of New Jersey to end these ridiculous policies and empower those closest to students to make the best decisions for their specific situation.
I’m not a doctor, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that making young children wear masks does more harm than good. For starters, we know that COVID-19 poses an extraordinarily low risk to children. Few children contract COVID-19, and the overwhelming majority of those that do recover quickly. Kids often don’t know how to wear masks properly, mitigating the potential benefits of mask-wearing. Kids also already touch their face more than adults, something that mask-wearing will only make worse.
Moreover, children don’t fully understand how to keep their mask clean and when to replace it. Dirty masks can become a breeding ground for bacteria and other microbes, many of which can be more dangerous to children than COVID-19. Mask mandates in schools force children to wear these infested rags over their mouth and nose for seven hours every day.
Wearing masks is also irreparably harming the emotional wellbeing of our children. I recently shared the testimony of Erin Pein, a school nurse who has seen first-hand how devastating mask-wearing can be to the mental health of our children. Her heartbreaking account relays how she witnessed children become physically ill from mask-induced anxiety. In one case, a young girl was so afraid to take off her mask that she kept it on even after she had vomited in it.
When Erin Pein tried to voice her concerns about making kids wear masks, she was suspended and escorted out of her school, all for trying to take a stand for the health of our children. As she plainly says, “this mandate isn’t safe. It’s not good for kids, it’s not good for adults, it’s not good for anybody.” This is Phil Murphy’s New Jersey – if you speak out against harmful policies, you are silenced and have your livelihood threatened.
Forcing young children to wear masks is nothing more than a performative act demanded by Gov. Murphy and his anti-science administration in Trenton. We should listen to the first-hand experience of everyday heroes like Erin and base our policies on real-world realities.
On May 10, I will be holding a rally with Erin and other concerned parents and teachers in Stafford Township to raise awareness about this issue. Democrats would like this crisis to continue indefinitely, so that they can continue to interfere in the private lives of every New Jerseyan. It’s time to stand up and say “No” to this agenda, end the heavy-handed, top-down approach of Phil Murphy, and promote individual freedom once again, returning power to the people to make their own decisions.
Hirsh Singh is running in the Republican primary for governor of New Jersey.