Here in South Carolina, we are currently experiencing a public health crisis and we need YOUR help now! 

A friend and an RN for 30+ years writes: “Many will say “Freedom of Choice” but without everyone wearing a mask, my child’s mask is much less effective. The purpose of masks is to stop virus droplets from reaching others. We know from last year that mandating masks works to slow the spread of COVID-19. This delta variant is MORE THAN TWICE as contagious as the original strain we had just last year when there were mask mandates. Mandating masks is our best defense to slow the spread and to help keep our children in school.”

Another local parent, Angela, was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2014. She was on non-stop chemo between 2014-2019. She developed Type 1 Diabetes and is on a continuous insulin pump. The number one cause of death for patients like Angela is pneumonia. There are a lot of very sick people within our community…that our otherwise healthy COVID infected kids could kill. We’ve already lost so many incredible SC teachers, just this year alone, to this horrible virus. We must begin to take all possible precautions. 

Our community, unfortunately, doesn’t think about our sick and high risk population often enough. We must think about trying to slow COVID-19 down for the sake of every individual who is alive today. We must do this to save our hospitals so that there will be beds for patients who are in immediate life or death situations. Masks will help with this world-wide effort to slow COVID-19 significantly and relieve our hospitals.

Hilton Head Hospital stated that local hospitals have stopped elective and even urgent surgeries. Floors are full. The ER is full as a backup. They are out of nurses. Charleston and Savannah hospitals are declining non-emergent transfers; they don’t have beds either.

Another parent of SC public schools, has a 10-year-old son with Chromosome 6 Syndrome. Part of his diagnosis is Chronic Lung Disease, which makes this delta variant especially deadly and 25% more likely for him to end up in a pediatric ICU, on a ventilator. He wears his mask every single day to school, however, many of his peers and teachers do not. Many other kids in the special education program are high risk. Virtual school is not an option for them as they lose access to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech.

We think our government, the school boards, and many of our neighbors forget about our sick and high risk children, parents, and grandparents when making such decisions. Though these sick kids and guardians may make up a smaller percentage of our population, their voices MUST BE HEARD. We MUST act NOW. 

We know that our special needs children are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. We are reaching out to the Office of Civil Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union in a desperate attempt to save these children and protect their rights to a free and safe public education. 

We must ignore Governor McMaster when the CDC, top virologists, our hospitals, and 70,000 pediatricians across our nation are pleading that masks be mandatory in our schools. 

Please help us by signing this petition. 

Thank you.