Some Michigan day care owners are questioning the practicality of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s latest mandate: masks for 2-year-olds.
“That will be difficult. Very, very difficult and very challenging for these little ones to wear the masks,” Juanita Castillo-Rowan, 47-year owner of Small Folks Development Center in Lansing, told WWMT.
On Friday, Whitmer’s administration made mask order to include children as young as two. Kids under five were previously exempt.
“We have to be very careful about how we explain it to them, it’ll be like, ‘We start with we wash our hands, because we want to keep everybody safe because there’s a virus and this virus can make you sick and we want to keep everybody from getting sick,’” Castillo-Rowan said.
Scott Vinson, owner of God’s Little Children Development Center, said some children already come to him and ask for a mask because “they see everyone else wearing a mask.”
Michigan Capitol Confidential reported the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), headed by Elizabeth Hertel, issued the order.
The order indicated kids at camps and child care must be covered.
“A good faith effort is made to ensure that children aged 2 to 4 years wear a mask when participating in gatherings,” the order said.
The mandate noted at this point, children under 2 are exempt. It expires May 25.
The latest order goes against recommendations from the World Health Organization. In a Q&A portion of the group’s website, it read, “Should children wear a mask?”
“Children aged 5 years and under should not be required to wear masks. This is based on the safety and overall interest of the child and the capacity to appropriately use a mask with minimal assistance,” it said. (emphasis original)
Whitmer’s office would not tell Breitbart News what science it followed when making the new mandate.
Hertel was criticized for taking a spring break vacation to Alabama after the governor urged no one travel out of state.
Whitmer’s Chief Operations Officer, Tricia Foster, also headed south to Siesta Key, Florida, potentially violating quarantine guidelines after she acknowledged she and her party left behind her son because he had the virus.
When Whitmer was questioned about the apparent double standard, she replied, “What directors do on their personal time is their business, so long as they are safe.”
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.