I wholeheartedly agree with the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board’s proposed revocation of the Virginia Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19. Please immediately give employees (including all staff in schools) their freedoms back and stop all mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and the resulting discrimination, harassment, and segregation that has occurred as a result of the former policy.

Masks are not necessary and are not effective, only harboring more germs. They restrict one’s ability to interact effectively and clearly communicate, as well as inhibiting students’ social-emotional development. They are also uncomfortable, hard to breathe in, and cause dizziness. It is time for common sense to prevail. Deaths and cases are way down, with an approximate 99.7% survival rate. We need to stop creating panic and spreading irrational fear. I’m concerned about the effect that these mask mandates and the constant media reports of “doom” are having on peoples’ emotional health and well-being. People need to have hope and a sense of normalcy, and the revocation of masks will be an important first step in improving mental health. 

Thank you for proposing the revocation, and I sincerely hope that the board will fully approve the removal of masks and other mandates as soon as possible.