COVID outbreak since masks optional
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Anonymous
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So, in the one week since DCPS has become mask optional, my kid’s school (SWS@Goding) has documented 8 or so positive COVID cases.
Very frustrating. |
Anonymous
| So there were no cases the whole time kids were masked, and now there’s 8? |
Anonymous
| We have received 0 notifications about COVID cases at our school |
Anonymous
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We haven't seen a single case since the mask mandate was lifted. I'm unsure of the percentage of kids unmasked, though. I think older grades are more likely to be going maskless and I think almost all PK kids remain masked (I'm guessing because they are unvaccinated?). But the interesting thing about this to me is that I feel like masks in PK and the younger grades are much less effective in general, because the kids don't wear them properly and are much more likely to wear a thin cotton mask due to age and the challenge of finding KN95/94 masks that fit them.
In any case, my sense is that maybe 30-40% of kids are going unmasked but that it has not impacted Covid rates at the school at all. We'll see if the new strain spreads the way Omicron did -- we had quarantines in every single grade in mid-December due to Omicron and back then everyone was masking. I'm just not convinced masking is the key here. |
Anonymous
We have had zero. We had more than one a week during the mask mandate. One week isn’t data. Sorry. |
Anonymous
Very few. Not like this. |
Anonymous
| some schools are still testing and reporting, and others are just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ |
Anonymous
I'm assuming your kids are still masked, and given your concerns, I'm guessing they are wearing KN95s or similar? Just focus on that, as it's something you can control. Evidence indicates that wearing a medical grade mask, even if others are unmasked, offers very good protection. I'm also guessing that your kids are vaccinated, assuming they are old enough to be. Vaccination is consistently cited as the most important thing any individual can do to protect themselves AND others from Covid, and is shown to reduce risk across the board -- lower risk of catching it, lesser chance of symptoms if they do catch it, lower risk of long Covid and other complications. If your kids are under 12 and have the vaccine that was recently announced to be less effective, please look at the explanation around why it has been deemed less effective. It's because kids in this age group are already at such reduced risk from covid. It's the same reason they've had trouble approving a vaccine for under 5s. It's hard to prove that a vaccine lowers risk for people who are already at such low risk and so rarely wind up hospitalized from this virus. Try to remind yourself of these things. You cannot control other people. You cannot control a virus. But you can control your own behaviors, and you can absolutely control your outlook. Do not focus exclusively on fears and information that worries you. Please give equal weight to data that consistently shows that children are at low risk generally, masking protects the wearer, and vaccines work. |
Anonymous
Evidence for this? I have a PK kid and we still test every Sunday, as mandated by DCPS. We still must do a symptoms check every morning and report it to the school. I have total faith that our school would report any positive cases. We have lots of friends at charters and they are, if anything, more zealous about testing (many of them doing mandatory weekly PCR tests for all students) and masking. I'm just curious exactly where are these schools that threw out testing and reporting along with masks. I keep hearing people talking about it like it's widespread but whenever people describe their actual experience at their school, it sounds like everyone is still taking precautions and taking Covid seriously. |
Anonymous
Incorrect. Also, I'm not sure where you are getting 8. The last notice I saw was five. SWS had a lot of cases before winter break, when everyone was wearing masks. Cases are rising everywhere. There will never be zero COVID. |
Anonymous
| I don't see why this is a big deal. |
Anonymous
| My kid's DCPS K class had zero positives until they lifted the mask mandate. My kid is still masking. |
Anonymous
< 5 yr olds are very small overall percentage of schools. It also only accounts for students and not adults in buildings. As for how seriously individual schools are taking the risk? Tour mileage may vary |
Anonymous
^^Your |
Anonymous
This is wrong. Cloth masks with gaps and lower filtration qualities are less effective against Omicron, but not high quality K95 and N95 masks |