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Opinion | When it comes to COVID-19, some in power are failing to protect the powerless | Richard Ransom

“They are putting not only the children at risk, but they are putting the parents and grandparents who take care of these children at risk.”

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In Tuesday’s Ransom Note: what are we waiting for? Our kids are days away from heading back to school and yet almost everywhere school leaders seem content to not require face masks despite doctors’ recommendations. Besides worrisome numbers from Methodist Le Bonheur, here are some more.

The Marion School District in Crittenden County, Arkansas, which is already back in session, Monday has 18 positive cases resulting in 253 quarantines, quarantines that would not be necessary with a mask mandate. Numbers like that are why Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson called the state legislature back into session hoping to revise a law banning mask mandates by schools, and the Marion School District Superintendent Dr. Glen Fenter will be there to plead his case. He'll be speaking for a lot of parents, and not just those in Arkansas, Like DeSoto County mom Lekista Flurry, who's worried about her eight-year-old boy who starts school in a couple of days.

“From my personal standpoint, I feel like yeah, they are putting not only the children at risk, but they are putting the parents and grandparents who take care of these children at risk,” said Lekista Flurry.

She's absolutely right. Kids will catch COVID-19 at school, and even if they don't get very sick, will pass it on to someone older who will. Folks, this virus doesn't care now --and never has cared-- about mom’s and dad’s politics. Grown-ups let this pandemic drag on much longer than it needed to. We at least owe it to our kids to do what we can to stop it from coming for our children.

Join the conversation by email (rransom@localmemphis.com), Facebook, or Twitter.

At the Marion School District, we are committed to the safety and wellness of our students and staff, and we are...

Posted by Marion School District on Tuesday, August 3, 2021

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