Increases of Covid cases at Lafayette ES

[Anonymous]

My Lafayette kid had a terrible cold last week - one of the worst she's ever had. Tested her daily for a week - all tests Covid negative. Pediatrician said Influenza A and RSV are going around.

And I see a lot of teachers at the school not wearing so don't agree with a PP post that all teachers are masked.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Kids and staff in our charter are still masked indoors and cases are up there too. I'm sure masks help but not wearing them def isn't causing the actual spike.

If you think they are wearing the masks, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Ha. They actually do wear them.

NP. Sure, they are wearing them, but they are kids. Those masks, even those child-size KN95s and KF94s, don't provide a tight seal and have plenty of air leakage around them. They are not providing anywhere close to the protection you think. That's why the highest quality studies of masks in schools have shown no significant effect (Spain, Finland).

We just had a Covid case in my kid's class, and none of the other kids, most of whom are unmasked, ended up catching it. We are seeing more cases at our school, but they don't usually end up spreading to others in the classroom.

Cases are going up everywhere, masks or not. And it doesn't matter unless we keep freaking out about it.

Masks absolutely help. The are far better than an outbreak like you had.

What makes you think we had an outbreak? It's not an outbreak when the cases not connected to each other.

And you can keep repeating the mantra that "masks help" forever (which I know is an article of faith for many), but ultimately you need to show us some good data to prove it.

Why is mask wearing contentious all of a sudden? Of course it helps. I could cite about a thousand articles, but here's one from the NYT that sums up several studies. https://www.nytimes.com/article/covid-masks-protection-stats.html

You are missing the point. Of course a tightly fitted medical respirator works if worn correctly. What has never been shown to make a difference (in a high-quality study, not a highly confounded observational one) is that school mask mandates work. So you don't have any scientific basis for attributing the current increase in cases to the drop of the mask mandate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP calm down. Seriously substitute the word cold for COVID and realize how nuts you sound. Do we mask kids during cold and flu season? No. Get vaccinated, get boosted if eligible and carry on. Most people have had COVID already. It’s never going away completely. No reason to mandatory mask or close schools. Get a grip parents.

Oh do colds kill people and cause brain damage? Never knew that.

The vast majority of people, and kids in particular, also don't die of or experience brain damage from Covid. Zero kids in DC have died of Covid. In a large study in Germany, zero kids without major co-morbidities have died of Covid.

And yes, people in nursing homes or who are severely immunocompromised die of colds as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids and staff in our charter are still masked indoors and cases are up there too. I'm sure masks help but not wearing them def isn't causing the actual spike.

Same. And, many of my friends across the east coast are seeing surges. I don't know anyone that has been particularly ill though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids and staff in our charter are still masked indoors and cases are up there too. I'm sure masks help but not wearing them def isn't causing the actual spike.

If you think they are wearing the masks, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Ha. They actually do wear them.

NP. Sure, they are wearing them, but they are kids. Those masks, even those child-size KN95s and KF94s, don't provide a tight seal and have plenty of air leakage around them. They are not providing anywhere close to the protection you think. That's why the highest quality studies of masks in schools have shown no significant effect (Spain, Finland).

We just had a Covid case in my kid's class, and none of the other kids, most of whom are unmasked, ended up catching it. We are seeing more cases at our school, but they don't usually end up spreading to others in the classroom.

Cases are going up everywhere, masks or not. And it doesn't matter unless we keep freaking out about it.

Masks absolutely help. The are far better than an outbreak like you had.

NP. To be clear, masks help with adults and big kids, but in PK thru lower elementary, there isn't a measurable distance with masking or not. I think some of this discussion is getting a little vague. It's not a question of masks or not, or ignoring covid or not. Our school has test to stay protocols, so instead of closing down my kids' PK and K classrooms, they are having the kids wear masks for a week and are doing more in class rapid test during the week. We do not need to ignore it, but I think it's right to take all necessary measures to keep as many kids in school as much as possible. The next thing is to adopt CDC guidance that asymptomatic kids can come back after 5 days, without further testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids and staff in our charter are still masked indoors and cases are up there too. I'm sure masks help but not wearing them def isn't causing the actual spike.

If you think they are wearing the masks, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Ha. They actually do wear them.

NP. Sure, they are wearing them, but they are kids. Those masks, even those child-size KN95s and KF94s, don't provide a tight seal and have plenty of air leakage around them. They are not providing anywhere close to the protection you think. That's why the highest quality studies of masks in schools have shown no significant effect (Spain, Finland).

We just had a Covid case in my kid's class, and none of the other kids, most of whom are unmasked, ended up catching it. We are seeing more cases at our school, but they don't usually end up spreading to others in the classroom.

Cases are going up everywhere, masks or not. And it doesn't matter unless we keep freaking out about it.

Masks absolutely help. The are far better than an outbreak like you had.

NP. To be clear, masks help with adults and big kids, but in PK thru lower elementary, there isn't a measurable distance with masking or not. I think some of this discussion is getting a little vague. It's not a question of masks or not, or ignoring covid or not. Our school has test to stay protocols, so instead of closing down my kids' PK and K classrooms, they are having the kids wear masks for a week and are doing more in class rapid test during the week. We do not need to ignore it, but I think it's right to take all necessary measures to keep as many kids in school as much as possible. The next thing is to adopt CDC guidance that asymptomatic kids can come back after 5 days, without further testing.

The recent study from Norway (one of the best that have been done) showed no reduction in Covid cases in the 10-12 age group. So it's not just in lower elementary that mask mandates don't help.

[Anonymous]

We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of the kids wear a mask. I see 1-2 per class masked at pickup. Other parents think Covid is over.

If you are vaccinated, its nothing more than a cold. COVID fear mongering IS over. Covid variant is blowing through so many of my friends now and their kids, my whole family had it a few weeks ago. Most colds are worse and last longer. If you are vaccinated, carry on.

Umm, tell that to my niece who was on the verge of going to the ER.

And my son who was admitted a few years ago for pneumonia that started with a cold. Illness happens. We move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Equating the purpose of wearing a mask while performing a surgery with wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a highly contagious aerosolized respiratory virus just shows you have no clue what you are talking about. Aside from the difference in function, nobody ever said a correctly worn medical respirator doesn't work. The point is that school children have never done that and never will, nor should they.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Yes, because performing surgery where you cut into the body and expose internal tissue is exactly the same as attending kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

There's been an increase but it's not like last December. We're talking 1-3 kids every day or two. Not 15+ kids and tons of staff.

And to the pro-mask people - masks in PK are a joke. They slipped down kids' faces constantly and the kids took them off for lunch, snack, and nap. They weren't offering any real protection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Yes, because performing surgery where you cut into the body and expose internal tissue is exactly the same as attending kindergarten.

But you said masks do nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Equating the purpose of wearing a mask while performing a surgery with wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a highly contagious aerosolized respiratory virus just shows you have no clue what you are talking about. Aside from the difference in function, nobody ever said a correctly worn medical respirator doesn't work. The point is that school children have never done that and never will, nor should they.

I suppose the doctors who wear them are not as smart as you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Equating the purpose of wearing a mask while performing a surgery with wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a highly contagious aerosolized respiratory virus just shows you have no clue what you are talking about. Aside from the difference in function, nobody ever said a correctly worn medical respirator doesn't work. The point is that school children have never done that and never will, nor should they.

I suppose the doctors who wear them are not as smart as you.

PP is trying to send zingers across...that are not zinging. That made no sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to tell all doctors and nurses to eliminate masks during surgeries then. It’s been a farce even before covid apparently.

Equating the purpose of wearing a mask while performing a surgery with wearing a mask to prevent the spread of a highly contagious aerosolized respiratory virus just shows you have no clue what you are talking about. Aside from the difference in function, nobody ever said a correctly worn medical respirator doesn't work. The point is that school children have never done that and never will, nor should they.

I suppose the doctors who wear them are not as smart as you.

PP is trying to send zingers across...that are not zinging. That made no sense.

Much like yours.