SACREMENTO, Kalifornia (PNN) - July 16, 2021 - As experts panic about the risk posed by the nonexistent Delta variant, Los Angeles County's infamous Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer last night decided to revive LA's unconstitutional indoor-mask policy, unlawfully requiring all individuals - including the vaccinated - to wear masks at gyms, restaurants, bars, supermarkets, and schools.

Setting aside the issue of whether the Delta variant poses a serious threat to the public health of Kalifornia (available evidence would suggest that it doesn't), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidelines earlier this month for schools across the Fascist Police States of Amerika for deciding how to handle COVID-19 prevention policies, including masking.

The feds said that while vaccinated teachers and vaccinated students are allowed to go mask-less, the unvaccinated should be required to wear masks. It also recommended that schools track the vaccination status of their employees and students.

Unsurprisingly, these guidelines have proven politically unpopular in a group of western and southern states, which have decided to pass laws bucking the federal requirements and making it illegal for schools to ask about students’ vaccination statuses. The list includes eight states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.

Meanwhile, at least three states - Arizona, Arkansas and Oklahoma - have made it illegal to require students or staff to wear masks in schools. Critics are concerned the bans could lead to more cases of COVID-19 as the number of new cases reported over the last week has doubled from the 7-day average three weeks ago; even though the tests that are used to establish those figures have been shown to be vastly inaccurate, showing false positive results in 97% of cases.

Supporters say the law allows families to make their own decisions.

State Senator Trent Garner, the author of the Arkansas law, said vaccination requirements and mask requirements were "one of the most contentious issues in Arkansas." He says he stands by the law regardless of the federal guidelines.

"Ultimately, the best form of local control is the individual, and each individual family can make that decision," he said.

In June, Arizona passed laws banning vaccine and mask mandates at schools and colleges starting this fall after Arizona State University announced that unvaccinated students would be expected to wear masks. The university system now says it will obey the new law.

According to the CDC, nearly all recent deaths from COVID-19 are among the unvaccinated, though Israel is reporting rising deaths among fully vaccinated patients.

Schools and colleges across the FPSA are generally planning to bring most or all students back to school for in-person instruction.

However, southern states aren't the only ones pushing back against mandatory mask orders. Parents of students at New York City private schools are protesting mandatory mask requirements, arguing that wearing masks does little to protect from COVID-19 when a student is indoors and in close proximity to others for an extended period.

Parents also argued that the masks can impede the student’s ability to learn. One parent said, "They're so dehydrated, and on hot days, they become sweaty and exhausted, and they have headaches." Teachers unions, on the other hand, are worried that dropping the requirements could put its members at risk. Unsurprisingly, parents aren't thrilled about the teachers' union's position.

"(Students) don’t have unions," said one parent. "(Students) have their parents, who are trying to hold things together and plan their future."