Rhode Island health officials warn of fake mask exemption form
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island public health officials are warning residents about a fake form circulating that gives the bearer a medical or religious exemption from coronavirus face covering requirements.
The certificate even includes a state Department of Health logo, the agency said in a tweet Sunday.
“It was not developed by RIDOH or any official source, should not be filled out, and should not/will not be accepted by any entity, as the form is not legitimate,” the department wrote in the tweet.
The agency did not say where the fake certificate originated.
The state has recently been restoring mask mandates for some indoor spaces in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant. Last week Gov. Daniel McKee issued an executive order requiring masks in K-12 schools for the upcoming school year regardless of vaccination status.
Before the order, McKee had simply recommended masks for schoolchildren, leaving the final decision up to individual school districts.
But state officials said more than a quarter of Rhode Island’s new coronavirus cases are among children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for a vaccination.
