By reducing the spread of COVID-19, given the highly contagious Delta variant, we are helping to keep our children, families, and communities safe. This petition is a continuation of an effort begun in the 2020 petition to the the North Carolina Department Health and Human Services to require masks for children attending childcare settings in North Carolina. 

There is growing urgency to the need for universal masking in children age 2 and older given the highly contagious Delta variant, which is rapidly growing in pediatric populations. Even before the Delta variant emerged, childcare settings were sources of cluster outbreaks. Research has shown the Delta variant to be even more contagious and more likely to make children sick, as well as to be transmissible, even by vaccinated people. Already more than twice the number of children have died of covid-19 than died during the 2019-2020 flu season, one of the worst flu seasons since 2010.

Clear scientific data shows the value of masking for reducing the spread of covid-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommended universal indoor masking by all children age 2 and older. Anecdotal evidence supports the fact that children as young as 2 are able to safely wear face coverings. Furthermore, while vaccines have shown to be highly effective in preventing severe disease, they are not yet available to children under age 12, making this population particularly vulnerable to covid-19. 

This petition urges NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education to require children ages 2 and above to wear face coverings while attending child care settings. Masks would not be required while eating, sleeping, swimming, or engaging in vigorous physical activity. During these times, a safe social distance, as dictated by current scientific guidelines, should be maintained. Exceptions to this policy would be for children who are unable to wear face coverings for medical or behavioral health reasons, have trouble breathing, or cannot remove the face covering on their own. 

We ask that the NCDHHS add to its strong efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 by making this policy change, thereby helping to safeguard the health of children, families, and communities in our great state.