ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Today Eric Lynn, congressional candidate for Florida’s 13th District and Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, calls on the Pinellas County School Board to require masks and ensure student safety in schools ahead of the upcoming school year. Lynn is the only FL-13 candidate who is also a parent sending his children to Pinellas County Public Schools, giving him a unique perspective on the current debate.
“What would otherwise be a very exciting time for families in Pinellas county as students get ready to go back to school, is instead a time of fear and trepidation as families determine whether to risk their children’s health while the delta variant rages across the state. Just six days ago, Florida led the country in child COVID hospitalizations, while in the last week 134,506 new coronavirus cases and 616 deaths due to covid have been reported. Unfortunately, our children, Hazel and Jaron, are too young to be vaccinated, as are all children under age 12. This leaves Tracy and me with the question: do we take our kids out of school for fear that those who don’t wear a mask will spread the virus?
“I am calling on the members of the Pinellas County School Board to do the right thing and require masks in schools for those who are unvaccinated. Our children and our community’s children’s lives are at stake. We know that masks are the most effective way at stopping the spread of the Delta variant, let’s follow the science and save our children.”