Principal of Washington state elementary school says students need to wear masks while chewing lunch: report

A principal at a Washington state elementary school told parents that students need to continue wearing their masks during lunch despite the school district’s COVID-19 policy that states masks don’t need to be worn while eating, according to a report.

Principal Neil O’Brien of Geiger Montessori Elementary School in Tacoma sent the email to parents this week to update them on the school’s COVID-19 policies, Jason Rantz first reported on his radio show on KTTH in Seattle.

Rantz said that the email, which a concerned father shared with him, said: “Children should wear masks during lunch. They can lower it to take a bite or a drink, and raise it to chew, swallow, or talk.”

The email further said that even though the cafeteria has “a fantastic airflow system” and students are socially distanced, “we need to treat lunchtime as a dangerous time for all.”

“Children need to continue to wear their masks during lunch,” Rantz quoted the email as saying.

However, the COVID-19 policy found on the Tacoma Public Schools’ website states that students, staff and visitors “must wear masks indoors, except when eating.”- READ MORE