13-year-old Mississippi student passed away from COVID-19 since governor doubles down against mask mandate
A Mississippi 13-year-old girl passed away of COVID-19 not long after the state’s governor Tate Reeves downplayed the amount of cases among its children. Mkayala Robinson passed away after coronavirus complications early Saturday hours after testing positive. The active 8th grader at Raleigh High School had attended classes most of the week before failing ill The Mississippi Free Press reported.
“It is with great sadness, and a broken heart, that I announce the passing of one of my 8th-grade band students,” the school’s band director, Paul Harrison wrote on Facebook Saturday morning. “She was the perfect student. Every teacher loved her and wanted 30 more just like her. Please pray for Raleigh Junior High, the band, and especially the family as they deal with this.”
Last week Gov. Reeves said at a press conference when he said, “I don’t have any intention of issuing a statewide mask mandate for any category of Mississippians at this time. I don’t know how I can say that differently other than the way I’ve said it repeatedly for a number of days and weeks and months.”
“If you look at those individuals under the age of 12, what you find is that it is very rare that kids under the age of 12 have anything other than the sniffles,” the governor said. “Does it happen from time to time? Sure, it does. I believe we have had one fatality of an individual, maybe it could’ve been two — I think there’s three under the age of 18 at this time? Two?”
Mississippi health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, informed him that there has been four juvenile deaths in Mississippi, including one this summer. However, the number did not change Reeves’ opinion on masks.
Reeves, a Republican, has deferred the decision on mask mandates to individual school systems, and downplayed the affects the virus on younger kids. “For those under the age of 12 who are not currently eligible for the vaccine,” he said, “it is highly unusual for there to be any significant effects.”
“But for that parent who has a kid that they’re worried about,” Reeves added, “if their kid is going to a school, I would recommend that they go to their school district if they think the best thing to do is to make masks mandatory in their school district, then they have every right to do so.”
The governor deferred the decision to individual families. “If the school district will not agree with the opinion of that particular individual, and he or she is worried about their kid that’s under the age of 12 going to school, they certainly have the option of encouraging their kid to wear a mask in the classroom,” he said, “and to protect themselves if they believe that will have a significant impact on protecting their kid in the classroom.”
Dr. Dobbs added that mask-wearing in schools would help “keep kids in schools longer.”
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