LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Just days after dozens of parents told the New Albany-Floyd County School Board they don't agree with the district's masking policy, a New Albany doctor's office has a message to any parent looking for a doctor's note that would excuse his or her student from wearing a mask at school.
On Wednesday, All In Pediatrics wrote on Facebook, "We will not write, call or otherwise approve for your child to NOT wear a mask in school."
Dr. Chris Mescia, a partner at the clinic, said that will be the rule going forward, barring a rare medical exception. He says most who have requested a note are calling the office without a legitimate exception and are simply arguing they don't want their children to wear masks at school.Â
"It's not that masks are this willy-nilly easy thing that every kid should just find totally easy. No. We get it that for a fair amount of kids it's a problem," he said. "But it's not nearly a degree of a problem as unmasked kids spreading COVID throughout a school."
Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported almost 94,000 new child COVID-19 cases nationwide, which represents an increase in the overall percentage.
It did conclude that "severe illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon among children," but hospitalizations are happening across the nation and locally.
Tuesday, Norton Healthcare said it currently has 10 kids hospitalized, with four in the ICU and two on ventilators.
"In June, on any given day, we didn't have any," said Dr. Kris Bryant, a pediatric infectious diseases physician with Norton Healthcare.
All In Pediatrics itself had 19 positive tests last week, at least six more this week and two young people hospitalized.
Floyd County Health Officer Dr. Tom Harris has seen it firsthand.
"I work in Floyd's emergency room at Baptist Health Floyd, and we've seen more cases in children than what we have seen historically over the last several months," he said.
It's the reason he's also making the case for masks in school, and the reason he agrees with All In Pediatrics' decision to say no to the parents looking for a loophole — especially when it's rooted in politics — that exempts their students from wearing a mask.
"We need to sort of roll back the polarization that's happened with this," he said. "We're looking for people to step beyond their political beliefs and go to the core of what's going on, which is being a citizen in the community."
Dr. Harris said, ultimately, the better this community is at fighting the uptick in pediatric cases, the better chance students will be able to stay in the physical classroom instead of the virtual one.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "face masks can be safely worn by all children 2 years of age and older, including the vast majority of children with underlying health conditions, with rare exception."
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