MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Pre-schooler Terrance Jones Jr. is naturally full of energy. His family has been worried about his health in school.
“My grandson, we had to take him completely out of pre-K because he has asthma and this delta variant is out of hand,” said his grandmother Bridget Bradley.
Bradley said COVID has touched her family personally. Her sister-in-law became ill with COVID after caring for her two grandkids after school.
“They tested positive for COVID from school and they brought it home to her and now she’s in the hospital.”
Bradley is worried about kids not social distancing in classrooms throughout the day in schools.
“These children’s lives mean so much and they just don’t care anymore,” she said. “It’s money over children. Over their lives. There’s nothing more important to me than my grandkids. Nothing, and I will not, I promise you I will not risk their lives.”
Bradley turned her den into a classroom for her grandkids last year and says she’s willing to do it again if that what it takes to keep them alive.
At the end of August, Gov. Lee issued an executive order saying parents can opt out of having their children mask up in schools. However, the U.S. Department of Education is investigating the order as discriminatory against children with underlying health conditions.
Bradley shared what she thinks Shelby County School leaders can do to ensure children’s safety amidst a pandemic.
“I can’t just outright blame them because really their hands are tied with Governor Lee right now,” said Bradley. “I blame him. I promise you I blame him because first of all I don’t think we should have been back in school. These kids the ones that have passed away they would be alive right now."