“Like the veteran said, we've been given liberty to choose. And we should be able to choose for our children.”

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KET video

Transcript of Audio

[State your name] Rita Yates.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee.

I came here today from Lawrence County, Kentucky.

I have five grandchildren in the school system in Lawrence County, Kentucky.

I'm here to speak on behalf of my children, and for the children out there who do not have a voice in this.

Just to give you a little bit of a background about myself. I have recently retired from almost 30 years of critical care nursing. And I've been trained in how to properly wear a mask.

And what I'm seeing done in the public is improper use of a protective piece of equipment.

For a mask to be used properly, it has to be changed frequently. To send our children to school for eight or nine hours in a mask is not the proper use of a mask.

I read what the KBE put in their criteria. You can tie almost anything on your face and call it protection, but that does NOT protect you from this virus.

If you read on the side of a mask box, it will tell you it does NOT protect you from this virus.

What protects you is good hand washing and keeping your hands away from your face.

And what I see in the public -- people pull at their mask all the time. That is the transfer of infection -- is the constant handling of it.

The gentleman that was up here earlier, he threw his on the table. I don't know how long he breathed in it. But I'm at risk right now. I'll go back to my seat and I'll cleanse my hands because I'm conscious of what is out there. COVID is a real thing.

But we can protect ourselves best when we are consciously aware of our environment, and we use protective equipment properly; and to breathe into a mask all day is not protecting our children.

I would consider it abuse to send their children to school to breathe in a mask all day. And I’d like to say I really concur with Miss Terry Conan, I think was her name.

Because we should not have bureaucrats who've been appointed by an executive branch dictate to us what we can do with our children--because fear has been pushed as the narrative, and I'm beginning to feel that fear and funding is ruling, and that's wrong. That's wrong.

In Sweden-- there's only one western country that did not shut down-- They did not shut down, they did not mask, and they kept K through 15-year olds open the entire time. If you were sick, you stayed home. Not one child perished. Not one child perished.

I feel for the children that were presented earlier. Cassidy—the immuno-suppressed-- those who are vulnerable.

That's what we've always done is take care of the vulnerable. We protect the vulnerable, the elderly, those who are immunosuppressed.

The healthy have never had to prove their health. They've never had to have a swab stuck up their nose to prove their health.

We're conscious people and can take care of ourselves, but I'm telling you the increased risk of using a mask improperly---- is fearful to me.

I understand these ladies are fearful to take their masks down. And I'm saddened by that. But we cannot live in fear.

Like the veteran said, we've been given liberty to choose. And we should be able to choose for our children. We should be able to choose for our children what's best for them.

If the mask makes you feel comfortable, wear the mask.

But my children need to breathe free. My children need to breathe free.

And I would ask that you would not allow the lawlessness of our governor to go unchecked.

He is currently under an injunction by the Boone County Circuit Court.

[Ms. Yates, you’re at your time]

Yes, Sir.

OK, thank you.

[Wrap it up.]

Thank you.