While most other states are lightening up on mask mandates, Michigan is going in the opposite direction and tightening up, this time by lowering the age of who has to wear masks in the state to 2 years old.
Like their older peers, all children ages 2 to 4 in Michigan are now required to wear masks in all public spaces, including camps and day cares. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the new rule was in response to an increase in COVID cases among children in the state.
The Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians backs the mandate, but at least one state House representative wants the governor to reconsider. Rep. Rodney Wakeman wrote a letter to Michigan’s Department of Health and demanded that the department produce specific data backing the wearing of masks by 2- to 4-year-olds.
According to Mid-Michigan Now, “Data from the state show children ages 9 and younger make up 11.5 percent of Michigan’s population, but they account for just 3.7 percent of the state’s COVID cases, less than 1 percent of hospitalizations and less than 0.1 percent of COVID deaths, as of April 23.”
SOURCES:
WXYZ Detroit April 26, 2021
Mid-Michigan Now April 23, 2021