APS Outdoor Lunch Needs to Be Optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Loosening” lunch requires more staff.

It just means inside which they were doing before so back to status quo (maybe with physical dividers still). So why more staff?

But far more kids hate indoor lunch. I think that's what you're not getting. There may be a small number of kids who hate outdoor lunch, but most of the parents here who are saying "my poor kid has to eat outdoors" have Kindergarteners or First Graders. Their kids never had indoor lunch, so they don't realize how terrible it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Loosening” lunch requires more staff.

It just means inside which they were doing before so back to status quo (maybe with physical dividers still). So why more staff?

Sending all kids back inside isn't "loosening" lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am begging, BEGGING, parents and community members to understand how very, very low risk kids are of severe illness from COVID. https://brownstone.org/articles/well-structured-german-study-shows-no-deaths-among-healthy-german-kids-ages-5-to-11/

Covid was a top 10 cause of death for kids in 2020.

Flu usually causes more death in kids, plus now there are vaccines. We don't require kids to eat outside in 45 degree weather and light rain because of the flu.

This is not true. Covid killed many more kids in 2020 than influenza kills during a typical flu season.

The vaccines do change things. But we need more kids to get vaccinated before we can change behavior.

A regular flu season kills more kids (H1N1 killed way more kids annually), and we don't do this for the flu. Take a look at estimated flu deaths. And COVID just doesn't kill random healthy kids - it kills ones with significant comorbidities, who absolutely should be taking more precautions (just like they need to with the flu).
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html

All of you nutters about COVID really need to understand you and your children will be exposed to it repeatedly the rest of their lives. Every single on of them will. Everyone will get it. The risk to health children is statistically 0, but if you're looking for it to be even less, there's a vaccine available. But will your kids forgive you when they're older for treating them like snowflake disease vectors?

Youngkin can't come soon enough.

Again, don't care about covid. Just want my kid to continue getting almost double the recess they used to get.

[Anonymous]

I just asked my kids about whether they were cold today.

My 1st grader: It wasn't cold it was fine.

4th grader: It wasn't cold, I didn't even need my jacket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We do not have the staffing to make it optional. All kids need to eat inside or all outside. Not enough staff to add another location to eat.

It isn’t just that. The quarantine rules are still in place so more kids would be quarantined when they are unmasked inside. My FCPS kid lost half the class because of where kids sit in lunch. In the classroom with masks it is 3 feet unmasked eating, many more kids are affected. If they changed the rule you will be on here complaining that your child has had to be quarantined too much and why can’t the teacher do concurrent instruction again. Answer: because there were fewer kids in the classroom during hybrid and because not all families can easily switch to virtual.
Pick your poison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do not have the staffing to make it optional. All kids need to eat inside or all outside. Not enough staff to add another location to eat.

It isn’t just that. The quarantine rules are still in place so more kids would be quarantined when they are unmasked inside. My FCPS kid lost half the class because of where kids sit in lunch. In the classroom with masks it is 3 feet unmasked eating, many more kids are affected. If they changed the rule you will be on here complaining that your child has had to be quarantined too much and why can’t the teacher do concurrent instruction again. Answer: because there were fewer kids in the classroom during hybrid and because not all families can easily switch to virtual.
Pick your poison.

The quarantine rules for close contacts are a political choice. They need to go and it's only a matter of time before they're gone.

It's an endemic virus that will be here forever. Expecting Zero COVID in schools is like expecting Zero COVID in bars, restaurants, or in society in general, or zero rhinovirus, or zero stomach flu. It's an extremist position and completely unrealistic.

If a kid is sick, don't come to school. If they're not, come to school. It's that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's winter time, vaccines are widely available for kids, and families having been dining indoors at restaurants since June 2020, but our kids are forced to eat outside at APS like prisoners. It's really beyond absurd.

My family dines in at family restaurants throughout Arlington, and we often see other APS families (and say hi). The vast majority of families are doing indoor playdates and birthday parties. Why is the burden being put on the least at risk members of this society (kids)? This charade has to stop.

And before you say "that's why we have cases" - COVID is never going away!! Look at Portugal, with 90%+ of people vaccinated. Most of Florida does none of these things and has the least amount of cases in the country right now. There are seasonal surges and these types of nonpharmaceutical interventions don't stop the spread of a highly transmissible virus, as is obvious. And what is the point of doing these procedures?

These Arlington COVID extremists are essentially saying our kids have to do these mitigation methods the rest of our lives, but they can stop when they become adults. There's 0 logic to this disparate (mis-) treatment of children. And newsflash - everyone will get be exposed to COVID repeatedly in their lifetime. Everyone.

This policy is simply appealing only to the most COVID extreme in Arlington. As Anthony Fauci is making clear, COVID will not be eradicated. If you're that concerned about your child getting a case of COVID (which almost everyone will in their lifetime) that you only "feel" safe if they're eating in "light rain" or with frozen hands outdoors, then you're free to have your child eat outside. But the rest of our children need to be allowed to continue doing exactly what the law allows in every other part of society and most are already doing every weekend with friends and family - eating indoors.

You were dining indoors with unvaccinated family in June 2020? JFC. That is why our schools were virtual last fall. Nice job.

Sit TF down - you obviously have bad judgement.

Here comes the morality play. Was dining indoors illegal? Restaurants were freely open.

The same type of mindset that said gay people were horrible people for having sex in the 1980s too, and responsible for AIDS. Disgusting.

Our schools were closed last fall because of our politicians, not because of COVID. That is clear, especially when you look at schools throughout the country and world that were open and cases in their community. But let's not get into that argument again. We know the closed school fanatics were wrong.

Let's not turn that thread into the school closures thread again. These people are just projecting - if you do something that doesn't meet their definition of COVID morality, you're a bad person and responsible for school closing (even though they advocated them being closed).

And I agree that this mandatory outdoor lunch needs to stop. Kids need to have regular lunch like pre-2020. Socializing with other kids is just as important as trying to avoid a virus that will be here the rest of their lives and vaccines are available for. We just were at a birthday party with 30 kids indoors on Saturday.

Well now we know who to blame for the HIGH case levels again here in Arlington. We will never get past Covid as long as people like you refuse to alter your behavior one smidge.

My kids like eating outside. Are you saying your child is too precious to handle eating outside in our temperate climate? You are aware that the kids go outside for recess right or does that upset you too? Schools are still keeping them in when it's below freezing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do not have the staffing to make it optional. All kids need to eat inside or all outside. Not enough staff to add another location to eat.

It isn’t just that. The quarantine rules are still in place so more kids would be quarantined when they are unmasked inside. My FCPS kid lost half the class because of where kids sit in lunch. In the classroom with masks it is 3 feet unmasked eating, many more kids are affected. If they changed the rule you will be on here complaining that your child has had to be quarantined too much and why can’t the teacher do concurrent instruction again. Answer: because there were fewer kids in the classroom during hybrid and because not all families can easily switch to virtual.
Pick your poison.

The quarantine rules for close contacts are a political choice. They need to go and it's only a matter of time before they're gone.

It's an endemic virus that will be here forever. Expecting Zero COVID in schools is like expecting Zero COVID in bars, restaurants, or in society in general, or zero rhinovirus, or zero stomach flu. It's an extremist position and completely unrealistic.

If a kid is sick, don't come to school. If they're not, come to school. It's that simple.

Ohhhh I see. So you see the issue and just want to upset the entire chess board. You want to make a POLITICAL message, not solve the problem at hand given the framework schools have.
That isn’t helpful for the current situation OP describes and what OP can do about it right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Well now we know who to blame for the HIGH case levels again here in Arlington. We will never get past Covid as long as people like you refuse to alter your behavior one smidge.

My kids like eating outside. Are you saying your child is too precious to handle eating outside in our temperate climate? You are aware that the kids go outside for recess right or does that upset you too? Schools are still keeping them in when it's below freezing.

And the morality play again. What don't you get about our lack of ability to control a highly transmissible virus? What is the purpose of even attempting to do so, considering it will be here FOREVER and there are highly effective vaccines widely available?

Everyone will get COVID. Everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't you remember when Lunch Petitioner said in her petition in March 2021 and to the media that dining indoors was a "high risk activity".

Who knew all those parents eating with their kids at Uncle Julio's on the weekend were doing the equivalent of going skydiving with them.You would have thought kids had the same risk as 85 year olds with a statement like "high risk activity". Oh no, their risk with COVID was less than risk with the seasonal flu. And now there are vaccines available (APS is having a clinic this week).

I was at the park with my kids on Sunday when it was windy and 50. We lasted 20 minutes.

Any continuing of this mandatory lunch policy into the new year is simply to appease the nuts like Lunch Petitioner and Ventilation Woman. I'm sure they still haven't eaten indoors at a restaurant since February 2020. Their warped views have to be forced down our kids' throats.

The deranged DCUM stalker is back. I guess you haven't gotten into counseling yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Well now we know who to blame for the HIGH case levels again here in Arlington. We will never get past Covid as long as people like you refuse to alter your behavior one smidge.

My kids like eating outside. Are you saying your child is too precious to handle eating outside in our temperate climate? You are aware that the kids go outside for recess right or does that upset you too? Schools are still keeping them in when it's below freezing.

And the morality play again. What don't you get about our lack of ability to control a highly transmissible virus? What is the purpose of even attempting to do so, considering it will be here FOREVER and there are highly effective vaccines widely available?

Everyone will get COVID. Everyone.

These COVID extremists are still talking about cases, like it's 2020. How many hospitalizations? The VDH has the average in Arlington the last 7 days per 100K residents as -0.2.

These nuts are the real anti-vaxxers. Their message is "Get vaccinated, but act like vaccines don't work." For something that will be here the rest of our lives.

Time to get on with real life. Drop the lunch charade. Everyone (except a few COVID Zero extremists) is dining in restaurants with their kids every week anyway. This is just playing into the COVID extremists morality play of what is moral behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you? Your behavior puts the rest of us at risk. You may be ok with getting Covid but not everyone is. Stop with the selfish behavior. These vaccines reduce symptoms but you can still get Covid. You are the problem.

It's not selfish to want your child to be able to eat in a warm building instead of sitting outside in the cold. Do you eat all of your meals outside?

Also, get vaccinated, get your kid vaccinated, and move on. It's time.

If the vaccines actually stopped transmission you would have a point. Except they don't. They didn't with Delta and now they really don't with Omicron.

People like OP just can't handle any deviations from normal. Why is this all so hard for you to handle, OP? I think you need to seriously consider counseling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do not have the staffing to make it optional. All kids need to eat inside or all outside. Not enough staff to add another location to eat.

Okay. Good rule that November through end of March should be indoors. We can't cater to the crazy minority who don't eat inside at restaurants.

The COVIDian cautious can organize their volunteer drive to staff outdoor lunch in the 35 degree weather for their children (like crazy people). These are rituals taking on way more and more of a religious level significance, like Muslims only eating while the sun is set during Ramadan and Jewish people fasting on Yom Kippur.

Or the Covidiot deniers can organize to supervise indoor lunch amongst those who choose it. Put your money where your mouth is, OP. Will you and your APE friends volunteer to supervise indoor lunch?

Have you ever been in an elementary cafeteria? My kid hated it in there. She's so much happier outside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do not have the staffing to make it optional. All kids need to eat inside or all outside. Not enough staff to add another location to eat.

Okay. Good rule that November through end of March should be indoors. We can't cater to the crazy minority who don't eat inside at restaurants.

The COVIDian cautious can organize their volunteer drive to staff outdoor lunch in the 35 degree weather for their children (like crazy people). These are rituals taking on way more and more of a religious level significance, like Muslims only eating while the sun is set during Ramadan and Jewish people fasting on Yom Kippur.

It is a new religion, with Ventilation Woman and Lunch Petitioner as the 2 youth leaders. Kids must sit in the 35 degree cold and eat with frozen hands to atone for the non-COVIDian sinner adults in society, sitting inside the warm restaurant and returning to normal (while the moral and righteous COVIDian has not eaten inside a restaurant since February 2020). The kids must be forced to practice the COVIDian religious rituals to bring Zero COVID/COVID eradication (which isn't possible - COVID isn't ever going away), just like Scientologists doing course after course to work up the Bridge to Total Freedom. Maybe we can get a statute of the virus too in front of every outdoor eating area for the kids to face while they eat their lunch (with fingers they can't feel in the cold weather).

This is the only way to teach the kids the morals to not be like the dirty viral spreaders in society (like the majority of their parents), who eat inside restaurants.

You sound unhinged. Are you aware of the high case levels right now in Arlington? I'm thankful my kid is eating outside. Kid is glad to be in school and I want to keep the schools open. If nuts like you get their way, we're going to have more outbreaks and closures.

I

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Youngkin can't come soon enough.

Save me daddy youngkin! Make the people I don't like go away!