Editor, Gazette-Journal:I am outraged that one of the first executive orders signed by Governor Youngkin is an effort to make it impossible for local school systems to enforce their mask mandates to protect the health of students and staff.

While many of us were worried about the omicron surge and how many more people would be hospitalized or die, Governor-elect Youngkin was promising to make it easier for parents to send their children to school without masks which is one of the protections we have against the spread of COVID-19.

Didn’t he know that all over the state, including Gloucester, learning has been disrupted by teachers and students being out sick or in quarantine? Wasn’t he aware that some Virginia schools have had to temporarily close because of lack of staffing due to Covid and others have closed for days to disinfect classrooms because so many students were out sick? Some Virginia schools have even temporarily returned to virtual learning to avoid more serious out...