Mask protest demonstrations held

Demonstrations on Saturday in Portales and on Tuesday in Clovis protested state education policies that require students, especially in elementary schools, to wear masks in response to changing guidance on COVID-19 prevention.

"Parents need a choice" about whether their children should wear masks at school, said Nicole Tivis, organizer of the Portales event. "We shouldn't have it shoved down our throats."

About 50 protestors gathered Saturday in front of the Roosevelt County Courthouse before spreading out along East Second Street, some carrying hand-lettered signs that carried anti-masking messages like "Let our children breathe. Science not Politics."

A protest held Tuesday in front of the Clovis Municipal Schools administrative office began with about 80 people, but had swelled to double that about 15 minutes in.

The protests were in response to the New Mexico Public Education Department's July 26 announcement that all elementary school students would be required to wear masks indoors when classes start later this month, because they cannot be vaccinated with currently available vaccines.

Further, secondary students will be required to wear masks unless they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the policy states. The new standard calls for safe social distancing of 3 feet instead of 6 feet and requires no masks for outdoor activities.

A PED news release said the decisions were made "in collaboration with the Department of Health and the governor's medical advisory team based on evidence of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines and the latest guidance from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Kenady Castillo attended the Clovis protest with her children, Leighton and Liam, who held up a "Let me breathe" sign. The siblings previously attended Mesa Elementary, but the family decided on homeschooling last year when mask mandates were announced. Castillo plans to put them back in Mesa eventually but, "until things change," they'll remain in homeschooling.

At Saturday's demonstration, some said current science demonstrates instead that masks are ineffective.

Richard Schwartz, a music instructor at Eastern New Mexico University who was among the demonstrators on Saturday, said two recent studies, one conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and one conducted in Denmark, show no meaningful correlation between mask-wearing and the incidence of COVID-19.

"The Danish study showed a 0.3% correlation," he said, "and the CDC study showed a 1.8% correlation."

Schwartz said a 30% to 40% correlation is considered weak. A strong correlation would be 50% or above, he said.

"Masks don't work," he concluded.

Viruses are so tiny, he said, that spaces in the weave of the masks allow them free passage.

Dee Anna Davis, a retired teacher, said "our kids have been hurt" enough already through more than a year of remote learning.

Standing next to Davis, Raenell Walker said masks actually cause disease because bacteria normally breathed out remain close to the body. In addition, she said, "they deprive the brain of oxygen" because they force wearers to breathe in more carbon dioxide.

On a website sponsored by Medical News Today, however, an article states "There is no evidence indicating that masks increase the wearer's risk of developing pneumonia or other bacterial, viral, or fungal lung infections."

The article advises to keep masks clean and avoid touching them unnecessarily.

Guidance from the American Lung Association's website flatly denies that masks cause oxygen deprivation.

"We wear masks all day long in the hospital," the guidance states. "The masks are designed to be breathed through and there is no evidence that low oxygen levels occur. There is some evidence, however, that prolonged use of N-95 masks (considered among the most effective at blocking viruses) in patients with preexisting lung disease could cause some build-up of carbon dioxide levels in the body."

Editor Kevin Wilson contributed to this report.