When will the masking end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people who actually know what they are talking about (Drs, epidemiologists etc) say masks are no longer necessary I'm sure many families will be ready to drop them.

Just because most of society has decided to stick their heads in the sand doesn't mean this is over.

They're not sticking their heads in the sand. They're following the health guidance. DC is the one not following the guidance. Coronavirus is never going to be "over." It will be with us forever. Fortunately, it's not that big of deal anymore if you get it so people can get on with their lives.

I don’t really get the “it will be with us forever” as a reason never to mask.

When salmonella started showing up in eggs (at much lower rates than covid) people stopped eating raw cookie dough (no, not everyone but no one says, oh salmonella will be here forever so go back to eating raw cookie dough).

No one says, oh colds will be here forever, so why do you insist on washing your hands so much?

I guess if you really think covid is just a cold and you think wearing a mask is hugely inconvenient then it might make sense but there’s plenty of people who would disagree on either point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people who actually know what they are talking about (Drs, epidemiologists etc) say masks are no longer necessary I'm sure many families will be ready to drop them.

Just because most of society has decided to stick their heads in the sand doesn't mean this is over.

They're not sticking their heads in the sand. They're following the health guidance. DC is the one not following the guidance. Coronavirus is never going to be "over." It will be with us forever. Fortunately, it's not that big of deal anymore if you get it so people can get on with their lives.

I don’t really get the “it will be with us forever” as a reason never to mask.

When salmonella started showing up in eggs (at much lower rates than covid) people stopped eating raw cookie dough (no, not everyone but no one says, oh salmonella will be here forever so go back to eating raw cookie dough).

No one says, oh colds will be here forever, so why do you insist on washing your hands so much?

I guess if you really think covid is just a cold and you think wearing a mask is hugely inconvenient then it might make sense but there’s plenty of people who would disagree on either point.

I sort of see your point but my (3 and 6 yo) kids wearing masks for 7 hours a day seems more burdensome than not eating raw cookie dough.

[Anonymous]

It's especially strange that there's still masking in schools when we as a city do not impose any other precautions on anyone in any other context, with the exception of hospitals.

DC always imposes the strictest coronavirus rules on the people (i.e. children) who are the least likely to get sick or to spread coronavirus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

(1) Cases are not low, dummy.
(2) Do we really need two threads on this every day?

DC's community level is low: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/key-metrics

Honestly you should be flagged for misinformation.

FYI, the CDC's "community levels" are about hospital admissions, not case counts. They stopped making transmission levels the main public metric, mostly to make the map look green instead of red, but those levels continue to be High or Substantial in nearly all of the country: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk. DC is currently experiencing Substantial transmission levels (most recent is 85 per 100,000 residents, although I assume it's higher because many tests aren't being reported to public health authorities anymore).

Just noting that you have changed the goalpost in the course of a few minutes. You originally said "Cases are not low, dummy."

You are shown evidence that cases are characterized as low.

You then move to transmission.

I'm not the same poster, and "transmission" means "how many new cases."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people who actually know what they are talking about (Drs, epidemiologists etc) say masks are no longer necessary I'm sure many families will be ready to drop them.

Just because most of society has decided to stick their heads in the sand doesn't mean this is over.

They're not sticking their heads in the sand. They're following the health guidance. DC is the one not following the guidance. Coronavirus is never going to be "over." It will be with us forever. Fortunately, it's not that big of deal anymore if you get it so people can get on with their lives.

I don’t really get the “it will be with us forever” as a reason never to mask.

When salmonella started showing up in eggs (at much lower rates than covid) people stopped eating raw cookie dough (no, not everyone but no one says, oh salmonella will be here forever so go back to eating raw cookie dough).

No one says, oh colds will be here forever, so why do you insist on washing your hands so much?

I guess if you really think covid is just a cold and you think wearing a mask is hugely inconvenient then it might make sense but there’s plenty of people who would disagree on either point.

I sort of see your point but my (3 and 6 yo) kids wearing masks for 7 hours a day seems more burdensome than not eating raw cookie dough.

And I get that, and I think that was the point of the Leana Wen article— sometimes you make the decision that the burdens outweigh the benefits for you, but some people, especially older kids and adults, may make a different calculation.

Just saying the risk is not going away so you should go back to living your life exactly as you did before, or being actively hostile (as many on this board are) to people who reach a different conclusion is what’s baffling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's especially strange that there's still masking in schools when we as a city do not impose any other precautions on anyone in any other context, with the exception of hospitals.

DC always imposes the strictest coronavirus rules on the people (i.e. children) who are the least likely to get sick or to spread coronavirus.

DC is not imposing any restrictions on children. DCPS (run by DC govt is mask optional). Charters (run by a board) are deciding masks. You don’t know what you are talking about.

And OP is at a mask optional school and is upset that people are choosing an option she doesn’t like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's especially strange that there's still masking in schools when we as a city do not impose any other precautions on anyone in any other context, with the exception of hospitals.

DC always imposes the strictest coronavirus rules on the people (i.e. children) who are the least likely to get sick or to spread coronavirus.

But no one is imposing anything on anyone. Kids don't have to mask. Some may choose to, which is what's bothering the OP.

[Anonymous]

I was surprised to see how many kids and teachers are still masking at our school. Oddly, there appear to be more older kids wearing masks at our school than younger kids. I would've expect that to be reversed.

There are still adults who mask at pick up, which takes place OUTSIDE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

It's a totally reasonable question and one people still in favor of masking never want to have to answer because they can't.

It seems pretty clear at this point that masks don't do nearly as much as we'd like to stop coronavirus, but they are really effective in terms of soothing the nerves of anxious people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people who actually know what they are talking about (Drs, epidemiologists etc) say masks are no longer necessary I'm sure many families will be ready to drop them.

Just because most of society has decided to stick their heads in the sand doesn't mean this is over.

They're not sticking their heads in the sand. They're following the health guidance. DC is the one not following the guidance. Coronavirus is never going to be "over." It will be with us forever. Fortunately, it's not that big of deal anymore if you get it so people can get on with their lives.

I don’t really get the “it will be with us forever” as a reason never to mask.

When salmonella started showing up in eggs (at much lower rates than covid) people stopped eating raw cookie dough (no, not everyone but no one says, oh salmonella will be here forever so go back to eating raw cookie dough).

No one says, oh colds will be here forever, so why do you insist on washing your hands so much?

I guess if you really think covid is just a cold and you think wearing a mask is hugely inconvenient then it might make sense but there’s plenty of people who would disagree on either point.

I sort of see your point but my (3 and 6 yo) kids wearing masks for 7 hours a day seems more burdensome than not eating raw cookie dough.

This is a good "would you rather?" Would you rather wear a mask for 7 hours everyday forever or never eat cookie dough again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

It's a totally reasonable question and one people still in favor of masking never want to have to answer because they can't.

It seems pretty clear at this point that masks don't do nearly as much as we'd like to stop coronavirus, but they are really effective in terms of soothing the nerves of anxious people.

My anxious kid usually just needs time to come around. I doubt he’ll mask forever. But I also doubt that lecturing him about it, using arguments about germ theory and statistics that are way over his head, is the most effective way to change his behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

(1) Cases are not low, dummy.
(2) Do we really need two threads on this every day?

DC's community level is low: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/key-metrics

Honestly you should be flagged for misinformation.

FYI, the CDC's "community levels" are about hospital admissions, not case counts. They stopped making transmission levels the main public metric, mostly to make the map look green instead of red, but those levels continue to be High or Substantial in nearly all of the country: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk. DC is currently experiencing Substantial transmission levels (most recent is 85 per 100,000 residents, although I assume it's higher because many tests aren't being reported to public health authorities anymore).

Just noting that you have changed the goalpost in the course of a few minutes. You originally said "Cases are not low, dummy."

You are shown evidence that cases are characterized as low.

You then move to transmission.

I'm not the same poster, and "transmission" means "how many new cases."

Actually, it doesn't, according to CDC. CDC has case counts, and they have positivity rates, and they have transmission rates (which are some combination of cases and positivity). CDC and DC coronavirus websites will show you "cases". CDC has a whole different rubric for transmission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

(1) Cases are not low, dummy.
(2) Do we really need two threads on this every day?

DC's community level is low: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/key-metrics

Honestly you should be flagged for misinformation.

FYI, the CDC's "community levels" are about hospital admissions, not case counts. They stopped making transmission levels the main public metric, mostly to make the map look green instead of red, but those levels continue to be High or Substantial in nearly all of the country: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk. DC is currently experiencing Substantial transmission levels (most recent is 85 per 100,000 residents, although I assume it's higher because many tests aren't being reported to public health authorities anymore).

Look at DC's case levels, which are also low. 85/100,000 is characterized as low.

Seriously, you are just making stuff up.

Read the page I linked. The Community Levels treat that level as Low (in combination with the hospitalization factors). But the transmission map, which is bright red, categorizes 85/100,000 cases as Substantial transmission. Not making stuff up; that's the CDC's own web site.

DP. Don't bother. This person is stupid. They can't grasp that the CDC changed from looking at hospital admissions for "community levels" so although case counts are actually high, the "community levels" show as low.

See this is why your type is ridiculed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DCPS school and everyone still masking despite the mandate being dropped. This is so disheartening. I really worry about the negative effects of not seeing faces for my young kids learning to read. I’m seriously considering moving to Virginia because of this, which sounds crazy I know. But if people aren’t a unmasking when vaccines are available and cases are low in community when will they?

You could just move to another part of DC, no need to move to Virginia. We're at Lafayette and I assume the few kids I see wearing masks actually have Covid. I haven't seen any teachers wearing masks (not that I've seen all the teachers).

[Anonymous]

We are at a DCPS and I would not say "everyone" is still masking. And our school was extremely mask compliant last year -- even after they dropped the mask mandate, most kids and teachers were still masking through June. We wound up sending our kid in a mask simply because he would have been one of only a handful not wearing them, and I knew the teachers were nervous about it.

But over the summer I got braver, and we decided not to send him in a mask this year. No spare mask in his backpack, nothing. He does mask for two indoor activities he does during the week, but that doesn't bug me -- we're talking 45 minute classes with no snacks or meals, and I know from observation that the mask usage is good (well fitting good quality masks). So it seems worthwhile because it's being done in a way that might actually be effective.

The thing I do not understand about masking at school is that 90% of it is completely useless. Cloth or surgical masks worn improperly or barely worn at all. I don't get it. Anyone who wants to mask should, and I do see some teachers and a handful of teachers wearing well-fitting K95s who I'm sure are taking the effort to keep themselves safe and healthy and good for them -- I might do the same in that situation. I will never understand the lackadaisical mask wearing, especially at this point. Just get vaccinated and leave your mask at home at this point.