Is it time to have the difficult conversation about masks and MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Did you read the article you linked to?

"Right around the corner" means "the state school board will discuss the issue at their December 7 meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Did you read the article you linked to?

"Right around the corner" means "the state school board will discuss the issue at their December 7 meeting.

That is about 5 weeks away...right around the corner is relative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Did you read the article you linked to?

"Right around the corner" means "the state school board will discuss the issue at their December 7 meeting.

That is about 5 weeks away...right around the corner is relative.

Bottom line, mandate for schools likely lifted during this school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Did you read the article you linked to?

"Right around the corner" means "the state school board will discuss the issue at their December 7 meeting.

That is about 5 weeks away...right around the corner is relative.

Bottom line, mandate for schools likely lifted during this school year.

Doesn't mean MCPS will lift theirs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Really irresponsible when many kids are not vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been pretty pro mask but it’s crazy to say that there isn’t a negative effect—it definitely makes it harder to understand the speaker. For HS kids trying to absorb complicated subjects like AP physics it’s really tough! My personal preference would be teachers unmasked when teaching if vaccinated. I think that would be extremely low risk for a large educational benefit.

It’s not low risk when half the cases are vaccinated. Teachers need better masks. Maybe those kids are not ready for AP physics.

You're using the wrong denominator.

If there are 2200 cases and 1000 or so are vaccinated, then that is 1/2 the cases are vaccinated. Those kids need to go into regular physics or another class if you really thing masks are to blame.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we might be heading in that direction! Schools will be the last place for masks to come off, but this is a start, thankfully!!

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/coronavirus/montgomery-county-might-be-nearing-end-of-indoor-mask-mandate/

It is right around the corner for the masks to come off in schools!! And private schools will probably be doing it even sooner!!

Today on WTOP "Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules"

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR1Z4OdFVYqcZYKDDpUEtIBjB1yhGyoKC9CQxi2i4ogdF8THkhKzK-E08c8

Did you read the article you linked to?

"Right around the corner" means "the state school board will discuss the issue at their December 7 meeting.

That is about 5 weeks away...right around the corner is relative.

Bottom line, mandate for schools likely lifted during this school year.

Agree probably after Thanksgiving. The mask lovers can now continue to wear their masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last couple of months have gone great for MCPS (although last year was such an utter failure when the rest of the country went back that they deserve no kudos).

Over the last few weeks we have had unmasked homecoming, parties, kids are having playdates constantly, and even unmasked lunch in schools. And almost no spread (very minimal at worst).

With the 5 to 11 group set to vaccinated very shortly, when do we start discussing masks? If you are a "mask forever" type please spare me, you are not based in reality or science. This is a serious discussion about when we think it will be safe. That day is coming, and probably sooner than we think. Me? I am think by Jan 2022 masks won't be necessary in schools and MCPS will ultimately have to bow to public pressure.

It's a STATE requirement. Did you know that?

https://news.maryland.gov/msde/new-masking-requirement-effective-immediately-for-all-maryland-public-schools/

So if it's a state requirement, then that shows that the vaccine's are working? Montgomery County has two schools listed with outbreaks of 2 and 3 cases each. All the other counties have multiple cases in multiple schools.

We also (at least for the moment) have a countywide indoor mask mandate, which other counties haven’t necessarily implemented. There are a lot of elements that have contributed to keeping case numbers low, especially as breakthrough cases become less rare.

Vaccinated cases aren't going to become less rare and many other countries have had surges post vaccine. The vaccines have shown long term that their effectiveness wears off. With people traveling, no masking and life back to normal, reality is we will have another surge especially with the holidays. We don't know the true spread as many with covid are not getting tested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The last couple of months have gone great for MCPS (although last year was such an utter failure when the rest of the country went back that they deserve no kudos).

Over the last few weeks we have had unmasked homecoming, parties, kids are having playdates constantly, and even unmasked lunch in schools. And almost no spread (very minimal at worst).

With the 5 to 11 group set to vaccinated very shortly, when do we start discussing masks? If you are a "mask forever" type please spare me, you are not based in reality or science. This is a serious discussion about when we think it will be safe. That day is coming, and probably sooner than we think. Me? I am think by Jan 2022 masks won't be necessary in schools and MCPS will ultimately have to bow to public pressure.

It's a STATE requirement. Did you know that?

https://news.maryland.gov/msde/new-masking-requirement-effective-immediately-for-all-maryland-public-schools/

So if it's a state requirement, then that shows that the vaccine's are working? Montgomery County has two schools listed with outbreaks of 2 and 3 cases each. All the other counties have multiple cases in multiple schools.

We also (at least for the moment) have a countywide indoor mask mandate, which other counties haven’t necessarily implemented. There are a lot of elements that have contributed to keeping case numbers low, especially as breakthrough cases become less rare.

Vaccinated cases aren't going to become less rare and many other countries have had surges post vaccine. The vaccines have shown long term that their effectiveness wears off. With people traveling, no masking and life back to normal, reality is we will have another surge especially with the holidays. We don't know the true spread as many with covid are not getting tested.

Again breakthrough rate in MD is 0.12%. Israel was only 50% vaccinated when Delta hit. Their deaths and hospitalizations were driven by unvaccinated at around 70-80%. What countries are you talking abnouy? UK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been pretty pro mask but it’s crazy to say that there isn’t a negative effect—it definitely makes it harder to understand the speaker. For HS kids trying to absorb complicated subjects like AP physics it’s really tough! My personal preference would be teachers unmasked when teaching if vaccinated. I think that would be extremely low risk for a large educational benefit.

It’s not low risk when half the cases are vaccinated. Teachers need better masks. Maybe those kids are not ready for AP physics.

You're using the wrong denominator.

If there are 2200 cases and 1000 or so are vaccinated, then that is 1/2 the cases are vaccinated. Those kids need to go into regular physics or another class if you really thing masks are to blame.

Here's the math. In the past 7 days, there were 44.83 confirmed new cases per 100,000 residents. Let's say that's 45 new cases per 100,000 residents, and 1.1 million residents, so 495 cases in the last week. Also. 77.2% of the county population is fully vaccinated. Again, with 1.1 million residents, that's 849,200 fully-vaccinated people and 250,800 people who aren't fully vaccinated.

Now, according to your unsubstantiated claim, half of the cases in Montgomery County are occurring among vaccinated people. That's 248 new cases in the last 7 days.

So, that would be 248 cases among the 849,200 fully-vaccinated people, and 247 cases among the 250,800 people who aren't fully vaccinated. In that case, in the last 7 days, for every 3,424 fully-vaccinated people in Montgomery County, there was 1 new confirmed case, and for every 1,015 not-fully-vaccinated people, there was 1 new confirmed case.

Which means - again, according to your unsubstantiated claim that half of new cases are occurring among vaccinated people - that not-fully-vaccinated people were 3.4 times more likely to to have a new confirmed case of covid in the last week in Montgomery County than fully-vaccinated people.

Which means that - even with your unsubstantiated claim - the vaccines greatly reduce the chance of a person becoming infected, let alone infecting someone else. Hooray for the vaccines!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been pretty pro mask but it’s crazy to say that there isn’t a negative effect—it definitely makes it harder to understand the speaker. For HS kids trying to absorb complicated subjects like AP physics it’s really tough! My personal preference would be teachers unmasked when teaching if vaccinated. I think that would be extremely low risk for a large educational benefit.

It’s not low risk when half the cases are vaccinated. Teachers need better masks. Maybe those kids are not ready for AP physics.

You're using the wrong denominator.

If there are 2200 cases and 1000 or so are vaccinated, then that is 1/2 the cases are vaccinated. Those kids need to go into regular physics or another class if you really thing masks are to blame.

Here's the math. In the past 7 days, there were 44.83 confirmed new cases per 100,000 residents. Let's say that's 45 new cases per 100,000 residents, and 1.1 million residents, so 495 cases in the last week. Also. 77.2% of the county population is fully vaccinated. Again, with 1.1 million residents, that's 849,200 fully-vaccinated people and 250,800 people who aren't fully vaccinated.

Now, according to your unsubstantiated claim, half of the cases in Montgomery County are occurring among vaccinated people. That's 248 new cases in the last 7 days.

So, that would be 248 cases among the 849,200 fully-vaccinated people, and 247 cases among the 250,800 people who aren't fully vaccinated. In that case, in the last 7 days, for every 3,424 fully-vaccinated people in Montgomery County, there was 1 new confirmed case, and for every 1,015 not-fully-vaccinated people, there was 1 new confirmed case.

Which means - again, according to your unsubstantiated claim that half of new cases are occurring among vaccinated people - that not-fully-vaccinated people were 3.4 times more likely to to have a new confirmed case of covid in the last week in Montgomery County than fully-vaccinated people.

Which means that - even with your unsubstantiated claim - the vaccines greatly reduce the chance of a person becoming infected, let alone infecting someone else. Hooray for the vaccines!

Do not confuse PP with your math, her brain may explode.

[Anonymous]

Just in from MCPS:

Dear Montgomery County Public Schools Community,

Montgomery County is lifting its indoor mask mandate at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 28; however, there have been no changes to the masking policies in place in Montgomery County Public Schools.

All MCPS students, staff and visitors are required to wear face coverings in school buildings and offices, regardless of vaccination status. This decision aligns with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as local health officials. Additionally, students and staff are required to wear masks on school buses. Face coverings are not required outdoors, but are strongly recommended for unvaccinated individuals.

Thank you for your commitment to the health and safety of our students and staff.

Montgomery County Public Schools

[Anonymous]

Many other places in the country don’t require masks in schools. Moco will get increasingly pressured to lift the mask or well I guess some people will just move. We’re thinking about it anyways given telework is now a given for both our jobs do not sure why we’d stay somewhere that hobbles our kid’s development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many other places in the country don’t require masks in schools. Moco will get increasingly pressured to lift the mask or well I guess some people will just move. We’re thinking about it anyways given telework is now a given for both our jobs do not sure why we’d stay somewhere that hobbles our kid’s development.

We're seeing a lot of self-sorting along political lines. Covid is just another data point in the set.