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Calif. Gov. Newsom faces new scandal as he yanks his kids from summer camp with no mask requirement — but only after maskless photos emerge on social media
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Calif. Gov. Newsom faces new scandal as he yanks his kids from summer camp with no mask requirement — but only after maskless photos emerge on social media

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has removed his children from a summer camp after photos emerged showing his maskless son indoors with other unmasked children.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the summer camp did not require masks to be worn — a move that was in defiance of the state's COVID-19 guidance.

What are the details?

Newsom's communications director, Erin Mellon, told Fox News on Tuesday that the pictures prompted clear concerns. Newsom had two kids, ages 10 and 11, attending the day camp, Mellon said, according to the Associated Press.

"The Newsoms were concerned to see unvaccinated children unmasked indoors at a camp their children began attending yesterday," Mellon told the outlet. "Their kids will no longer be attending the camp."

According to the outlet, the state's guidance for children ages 2 to 11 states that all must be masked during "camps for youth, youth sports, and other youth activities, including theater, and music performances, and band."

After the photos emerged and Mellon's statement was circulated, a copy of the camp's mask policy — a policy that was reportedly sent to all parents before the camp began summer sessions — began making the rounds on social media and clearly stated, "Masks will not be enforced. Please know that your child is more than welcome to wear a mask during camp."

Following the controversy, the governor's office issued a follow-up statement stating that the Newsom family "reviewed communication from the camp and realized that an email was missed saying the camp would not enforce masking guidance."

What else?

Activist group Reopen California Schools made headlines with a tweet pointing out what it said was Newsom's hypocrisy.

The tweet read, "#Breaking Photos posted to Instagram reveal Gavin Newsom's 10-year-old son w/ other kids maskless, indoors & not distancing at a basketball summer camp, even while spectating. This is in clear violation of his own mask mandates. Why can his kid be maskless, but not ours?"

The tweet continued, "The photos were removed from the summer camp's Instagram account once Newsom's son was identified, but there is [sic] plenty of screenshots and video out there. We have some. The Instagram post occurs as Newsom pushes for increased vaccine rates if we ever want to be rid of masks."

What's Reopen California Schools?

According to the Sacramento Bee, Zachreson leads the Reopen California Schools group, which is a "parent advocacy group" that is suing the Newsom administration over its in-school mask mandates.

Earlier this month, state officials announced that all California students and educators would be required to wear masks while in school even if they are vaccinated.

The group, according to the outlet, pushed for public schools to reopen faster during the pandemic, and is now advocating for more relaxed restrictions as the 2021-22 school year gets ready to kick off.

Reopen California Schools "argues masks should be voluntary for students and teachers, and quarantine rules should be relaxed so kids aren't kept out of school even if they don't have symptoms just because of a COVID exposure," the outlet added.

Zachreson told the outlet that the incident highlights what he says is Newsom's hypocrisy.

"This clearly demonstrates that he doesn't believe there's a risk," he said. "His kids get to live by a different set of rules."

An unmasked Newsom faced scrutiny and criticism in November after photos showed him dining with a large, maskless group at an indoor restaurant..

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