APS mask policy

[Anonymous]

^ also, it would seem near impossible to track which kid is wearing a mask and which isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Yay. More positive case emails from school. 😕 it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks.

What will happen is you will continue to get some notifications and Omicron will continue to trickle down and at some point we will be back at a new lower level of cases until the next variant. This is what happened and is happening in all the parts of the country and parts of Europe where the surge came and went and the whole time kids were unmasked.

I am not anti-masking at all and think it serves its purpose during surges (mostly as a tool for individuals to control their own risk exposure, as needed and wanted) and will put mine back on during a surge and my kids will too. But to suggest there will be some surge in cases in the next few weeks is giving yourself and the rest of us too much credit.

Also what will happen is unmasked kids will now quarantine.

Not if they are vaxxed and asymptomatic, correct?

Yes, correct. This PP is giving incorrect info.

The APS website says vaccinated kids do not have to quarantine IF they are masked. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Did that change?

Where does it say this?

Masking is used to determine if you are a close contact or not. From their website:

Close Contact

A close contact is identified as a student within the classroom setting that meets any of the following criteria:

Within 3 feet of another masked student
Within 6 feet of another student without a mask
Within 6 feet of an adult regardless of mask usage
Within 6 feet of another student outside the classroom regardless of mask usage

However, once you are a close contact, if you are vaccinated you do not have to quarantine. The end.

https://www.apsva.us/school-year-2021-22/health-safety-information/contact-tracing-quarantine-isolation/

So it's possible unmasked kids will be identified as close contacts more often, that is true. But it won't have any real impact under current policies.

That is my understanding, at least.

You missed this part:

Exemption from Quarantine

1. Students and staff who are identified as close contacts may be exempt from quarantine if they:

Are up to date on vaccinations, including boosters*, per CDC criteria; AND
Are able to follow current mask regulations; AND
Are asymptomatic

No I didn’t. I mentioned it above.

Current mask regulations are masks are optional. So a vaccinated kid not wearing a mask is following current regulations and doesn’t have to quarantine.

What other way is there to read this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It just seems odd that APS has not put out any specific info on that, it must be a question on many parents minds.

Because I think their current guidance is written in a way that addresses this clearly and allows for changes in masking regulations. Which was smart of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yay. More positive case emails from school. 😕 it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks.

Well based on the incubation period this most likely came from before the Great Unmasking, right?

Yes. It was not implied this was an instantaneous spread. Just another thing going on. Which loads it. Still a waiting game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It just seems odd that APS has not put out any specific info on that, it must be a question on many parents minds.

Because I think their current guidance is written in a way that addresses this clearly and allows for changes in masking regulations. Which was smart of them.

This is not how it was worded before. Before it specifically had guidance for distances with and without masks. Now it says “per masking regulations”, which I agree is more flexible and makes more sense.

[Anonymous]

Didn't they say they are not doing contract tracing anymore unless there is a major outbreak? Or am I mixing that up with something I saw about FCPS? If that's the case then there won't be any labels of 'close contact' anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't they say they are not doing contract tracing anymore unless there is a major outbreak? Or am I mixing that up with something I saw about FCPS? If that's the case then there won't be any labels of 'close contact' anyway.

No, Random people on the Internet said things like there’s been no contact tracing all year. It’s just a statement bro dads made, not truth of practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't they say they are not doing contract tracing anymore unless there is a major outbreak? Or am I mixing that up with something I saw about FCPS? If that's the case then there won't be any labels of 'close contact' anyway.

No, Random people on the Internet said things like there’s been no contact tracing all year. It’s just a statement bro dads made, not truth of practice.

CDC issued new contact tracing guidance in acknowledgement that no one is doing it anymore. APS contact tracing is and has been a joke.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/health/cdc-contact-tracing.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't they say they are not doing contract tracing anymore unless there is a major outbreak? Or am I mixing that up with something I saw about FCPS? If that's the case then there won't be any labels of 'close contact' anyway.

No, Random people on the Internet said things like there’s been no contact tracing all year. It’s just a statement bro dads made, not truth of practice.

CDC issued new contact tracing guidance in acknowledgement that no one is doing it anymore. APS contact tracing is and has been a joke.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/health/cdc-contact-tracing.html

Oh and one tale from a random person on the internet to say there's been no contact tracing this year, I got a call about my child saying she was exposed...ready...a full two weeks prior to the call. So sure, APS did the contact tracing.

Any contact tracing that was happening in any amount of time to be useful was having to be done by the school administrators and has been hit or miss.

[Anonymous]

APS just sent this out:

Layered Mitigation Measures: APS is continuing the layered mitigation strategies we have in place, including contact tracing, isolation and quarantine protocols, health screening, in-school weekly testing and mandatory employee vaccination. These measures align with current CDC guidance for maintaining safe schools. We anticipate that the CDC will update its guidance for contact tracing, isolation and quarantine protocols soon, and I will provide any update when those changes are announced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. But at what point will you unmask then? Never? If the CDC says, as it does now, that places like Arlington and DC don’t need to mask, what will convince you?

I am tired of COVID but I am even more tired of dealing with people who think "Never?" is even close to a reasonable guess.

I care about the spread and would like it to be lower -- if masking had continued until the end of March instead of the beginning, I think we might have gotten there.

I care about vaccination rates, and I am bummed that they stalled out.

I care about effective treatments, and I wish we had one.

I care about air quality, and I wish APS had done more on that front.

I don't know when my family will stop masking, because I don't know what is going to happen over the next few weeks. If rates stay low, I'll talk to my kids about whether they think unmasking at school is OK.

Cases are really low right now. 12/100,000 right now. Haven't been this low since November 2020. What's the magic number for you?

Will it feel awkward for you if cases continue to drop anyway?

Cases are low but your data is incorrect. We were below 11.0/100,000 in November 2021. Even last summer in June/July we were 1/100,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Cases are really low right now. 12/100,000 right now. Haven't been this low since November 2020. What's the magic number for you?

Will it feel awkward for you if cases continue to drop anyway?

Why would it feel awkward? What are you assuming about me that I haven't said?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yay. More positive case emails from school. 😕 it’s going to be interesting the next few weeks.

Well based on the incubation period this most likely came from before the Great Unmasking, right?

And almost all kids are still masked so the OP is being silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. But at what point will you unmask then? Never? If the CDC says, as it does now, that places like Arlington and DC don’t need to mask, what will convince you?

I am tired of COVID but I am even more tired of dealing with people who think "Never?" is even close to a reasonable guess.

I care about the spread and would like it to be lower -- if masking had continued until the end of March instead of the beginning, I think we might have gotten there.

I care about vaccination rates, and I am bummed that they stalled out.

I care about effective treatments, and I wish we had one.

I care about air quality, and I wish APS had done more on that front.

I don't know when my family will stop masking, because I don't know what is going to happen over the next few weeks. If rates stay low, I'll talk to my kids about whether they think unmasking at school is OK.

Cases are really low right now. 12/100,000 right now. Haven't been this low since November 2020. What's the magic number for you?

Will it feel awkward for you if cases continue to drop anyway?

Cases are low but your data is incorrect. We were below 11.0/100,000 in November 2021. Even last summer in June/July we were 1/100,000.

Where are these case rates from? When I look at CDC's website, they say 93/100k for Arlington County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Ok. But at what point will you unmask then? Never? If the CDC says, as it does now, that places like Arlington and DC don’t need to mask, what will convince you?

I am tired of COVID but I am even more tired of dealing with people who think "Never?" is even close to a reasonable guess.

I care about the spread and would like it to be lower -- if masking had continued until the end of March instead of the beginning, I think we might have gotten there.

I care about vaccination rates, and I am bummed that they stalled out.

I care about effective treatments, and I wish we had one.

I care about air quality, and I wish APS had done more on that front.

I don't know when my family will stop masking, because I don't know what is going to happen over the next few weeks. If rates stay low, I'll talk to my kids about whether they think unmasking at school is OK.

Cases are really low right now. 12/100,000 right now. Haven't been this low since November 2020. What's the magic number for you?

Will it feel awkward for you if cases continue to drop anyway?

Cases are low but your data is incorrect. We were below 11.0/100,000 in November 2021. Even last summer in June/July we were 1/100,000.

Where are these case rates from? When I look at CDC's website, they say 93/100k for Arlington County?

VDH
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/see-the-numbers/covid-19-in-virginia/covid-19-in-virginia-locality/