Viral Photo Shows A School Employee Taping A Mask To A Child’s Face, Sparking Outrage Among Parents

Pennsylvania parents are outraged over a viral photo that shows a school employee taping a mask to a student’s face, which the school district has confirmed is legitimate.

A teacher in the North Penn School District (NPSD) was photographed taping a mask to a young child’s face, according to the viral Facebook post on the North Penn Stronger Together page. 

“Pro-mask or anti-mask, I hope we can all agree that taping masks to children’s faces crosses the LINE,” North Penn Stronger Together wrote in the post. “This was not a joke for the child or the parents.”

NPSD confirmed that the image was taken in one of its classrooms last week, but that said taping masks to children’s faces “does not represent the universal values” of the district.

“After an immediate investigation, it was determined that while the incident was isolated and no malice was intended, the actions of the teacher were entirely inappropriate and unacceptable, no matter the context,” the district statement said. “We understand that the act of taping a mask to a student’s face is concerning to many and apologize that it occurred.”

NPSD recognized the matter as “serious” and said it is being addressed with the employee, but explained it is unable to provide any further information regarding personnel and student matters.

As of Jan. 19, 596 children aged five to 19 have died of COVID-19 out of over 850,000 total deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.