After members of the public noticed that the son of California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom was photographed at his summer camp maskless with other maskless children, they harshly criticized Newsom for his hypocrisy, since California has implemented statewide guidance that children wear masks to camps regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not.
After the photos of his son emerged, Newsom, who is facing a serious recall election, pulled his son out of the camp, The Sacramento Bee reported, adding, “Under the state’s guidelines, children’s camps must follow the same rules as schools.”
Newsom’s spokeswoman Erin Mellon, claiming the Newsoms had missed an alert from the camp that children would not be forced to wear masks, added, “The Newsoms were concerned to see unvaccinated children unmasked indoors at a camp their children began attending yesterday. The family reviewed communication from the camp and realized that an email was missed saying the camp would not enforce masking guidance. Their kids will no longer be attending this camp.”
Fox News noted:
California’s current guidance for children aged 2-11 states they must wear masks during “camps for youth, youth sports and other youth activities, including theater and music performances and band. Updated CDC guidance is forthcoming for youth settings.” California officials announced July 9 that students and teachers returning to the classroom this year will also be required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status.
Two parent advocacy organizations, Let Them Breathe and Reopen California Schools, are suing Newsom and the state’s health officials over the mandate requiring all children to wear masks at schools. Reopen California Schools founder Jonathan Zachreson reacted to the news of Newsom pulling his children out of the camp by referencing the incident in 2020 in which Newsom attended a party at the French Laundry without a mask despite the fact he had instructed Californians to eschew such actions. Zachreson stated, “This clearly demonstrates that he doesn’t believe there’s a risk. His kids get to live by a different set of rules.”
“Zachreson said he doesn’t believe Newsom didn’t know that the camp allowed kids to interact without masks inside because the camp frequently posts photos of maskless children on its website and social media accounts,” the Bee reported.
Reopen California Schools wrote as part of a long Twitter thread: “To be clear, we support this summer basketball camp’s approach of having each family determine their own masking situation. The real problem is Newsom’s own family having mask choice, while he forces a different policy on every other kid in California…. It’s unfortunate Newsom is pulling his kid from the camp after Newsom got caught. #LetHunterPlay. It’s also clear from Newsom’s statement he is clueless about his own mandates. We just want what Newsom’s kids have, mask-choice.”
After the lawsuit about children wearing masks was filed, Zachreson said, “It’s clear that (the health department) has chosen to ignore the overwhelming evidence that show children are at a very low risk from being infected with COVID-19, transmitting it to others, or becoming seriously ill from COVID-19. A return to a normal school year is crucial to the mental and physical health recovery for students across California who have endured months of isolation and a majority of who spent last school year entirely in distance learning.”