RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – When Sigal Chattah goes to federal court to challenge a school mask mandate issued by the governor of Nevada, she’ll likely be required to wear the very thing she’s arguing against: a mask.
That’s because U.S. District Court in Las Vegas and other courts where plaintiffs are demanding their freedoms from masking and COVID-19 vaccinations require everyone to wear masks. Just as in-person hearings and trials resumed at courthouses around the country, a surge of coronavirus cases sparked by the delta variant has prompted some federal courts to impose new restrictions and requirements for mask-wearing and vaccinations.
“The whole situation is very ironic,” said Chattah, a Republican candidate for state attorney general who is representing two parents in a lawsuit that charges a mask mandate ordered by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak is unconstitutional.
The Democratic governor’s order requires students and school employees in the Las Vegas and Reno areas to wear masks on buses and inside school buildings, regardless of vaccination status. The lawsuit challenging them calls the governor’s orders “draconian” and says they will inflict emotional distress on schoolchildren and their parents.
Other federal courts re-imposing virus restrictions have also seen lawsuits filed or heard cases challenging public health measures.