California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) pulled his children from a summer camp after photos surfaced of his son and other children attending without masks.
Why? Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for the California governor said that the photos of maskless children prompted the family to pull his kids from the camp. The spokesperson claimed the Newsom family missed an email from camp organizers that said the camp would not ask children to wear masks.
“The Newsoms were concerned to see unvaccinated children unmasked indoors at a camp their children began attending yesterday and after seeing this, removed the kids from the camp,” Mellon said in a statement, according to The Sacramento Bee. “The family reviewed communication from the camp and realized that an email was missed saying the camp would not enforce masking guidance. Their kids will no longer be attending this camp.”
How we got here: The decision came a day after Reopen California Schools, a group that advocates for children’s return to classrooms, tweeted that the camp posted a photo that showed Newsom’s 10-year-old and other children maskless indoors.
“This is in clear violation of his own mask mandates,” the group tweeted. “Why can his kid be maskless, but not ours?”
Reopen Califronia Schools said it would not publish photos of Newsom’s son and later tweeted that the pictures have been removed from the camp’s Instagram page.
California’s rules: The state requires children aged between 2 and 11 to wear masks during “camps for youth, youth sports and other youth activities.”
Officials in California also announced earlier this month that teachers and students would have to wear face coverings in schools as well, regardless of their vaccination status.
“We’re going to start with a requirement K through 12 that the year begins with masks,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said at the time. “At the outset of the new year, students should be able to walk into school without worrying about whether they will feel different or singled out for being vaccinated or unvaccinated — treating all kids the same will support a calm and supportive school environment.”
Worth noting: Reopen California Schools and Let Them Breath sued Newsom last week over the state’s decision to mandate masks when schools reopen in the fall.
Since then, the Center for Disease and Control has introduced new guidance and urged local officials to encourage masking indoors for all teachers, staff, and students, as well as school visitors, even if they are fully vaccinated.
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