
'We don't need a study': Health officials can't offer evidence to support Youngkin's mask order
A day after Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order giving students the ability to opt out of school masking policies, Dr. Colin Greene, the newly appointed state health commissioner, addressed the directive in an email to local health district directors.
“I suspect there are those who find this rule hard to hear,” he wrote, adding that they could discuss “the pros and cons of masking at length” in a planned monthly Zoom meeting. When it came to the Virginia Department of Health’s public stance, though, Greene was clear.
“I respectfully remind all health directors that VDH is an executive agency, under the leadership, oversight and discipline of the governor,” he continued in the email, which was obtained by the Mercury. “Compliance with the word and intent of this executive order on the part of any VDH employee is not optional.”