Psaki Responds To Financial Penalties For Florida Schools Forcing Children To Wear Masks

During Tuesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to impose financial penalties on school officials who violate the state’s ban on forcing children to wear masks in school without their parents’ consent.

Psaki responded to the question by saying DeSantis should “get out of the way” and let the government overrule a parent’s decision for their child.

Psaki said, “If you’re not interested in following the public health guidelines to protect the lives of people in your state, to give parents some comfort as they’re sending their kids to school — schools are opening in Florida, this week, I know, in many parts of Florida — then get out of the way and let public officials let local officials do their job to keep students safe.  This is serious, and we’re talking about people’s lives.”

“And we know, based on public health guidelines, that even though kids under a certain age are not yet eligible, masks can have a huge impact,” Psaki added.
Psaki’s comments come a week after Biden COVID-19 Advisory Board member Michael Osterholm admitted that cloth masks “are not very effective” at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

“We know today that many of the face cloth coverings that people wear are not very effective in reducing any of the virus movement in or out,” Osterholm said in a CNN interview. “We need to talk about better masking. We need to talk about N-95 respirators, which would do a lot for both people who are not yet vaccinated or not previously infected.”