When should DC drop its school mask mandate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got an email from our dcps school that masks are still required for staff, students and visitors on school grounds - outside and inside. So let me get this straight - starting March 1 I can stop wearing my mask inside the grocery store but have to put it back on to pick up my kid from school outside?!?! Does the mayor have the power to stop this nonsense or is it DCPS?

Don't bother putting it on outside to pick up or drop off your kid. I've not been doing that for months, and no one gives a crap. I'm not the only one, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Newbie here. Will the community based daycares follow DCPS on masks or do they follow other local governance?

It's all about OSSE for our daycare. They will not change a thing until OSSE specifically says "no more masks" or "reduce your quarantine."

Our daycare also still has a 7 day travel quarantine in effect as required because DC never took down the language that it is "recommended" for unvaccinated people. It's insanity.

When DC finally does act on dropping school and daycare mask requirements, OSSE is going to have to be very, very specific that they should be dropped.

Yu Ying is still requiring a 7-day travel quarantine for the unvaccinated (ie, all PK3 and PK4 families) leaving the DMV because of the DC Health “recommendation”.

They can "require" it all they want, but if no one gives a shit and everyone ignores it, is it really a requirement?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Just got an email from our dcps school that masks are still required for staff, students and visitors on school grounds - outside and inside. So let me get this straight - starting March 1 I can stop wearing my mask inside the grocery store but have to put it back on to pick up my kid from school outside?!?! Does the mayor have the power to stop this nonsense or is it DCPS?

You can thank the parents for this. DCPS wouldn’t feel confident being entirely in opposition to CDC guidelines if they didn’t think the majority of parents were supportive of it.

Time to start making noise if you want things to change.

What’s the best way to make noise? Asking seriously.

I would also like to know. My kids are at a charter, but I'm hoping it'll follow whatever DCPS does. How do we advocate?

Emails, phone calls, petitions to anyone and everyone involved - the mayor, heath officials, school boards, principals, PTAs, your local ANC reps. Basically anyone you can think of in/near DC government who has any platform to speak out in opposition to this.

The only people who have a say on this matter are LaQuandra Nesbitt at DC Health and (possibly to a lesser extent) the mayor. [e-mail]

When I send an email to her at that address I get the below note. And that contact Tanya d also not there. Seems like they have no interest in hearing from anyone.

Thank you for your email. I continue to receive a high volume of email at this address. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as response times may be delayed.

All questions regarding the notice of non-compliance with the District of Columbia Department of Health Vaccination mandate filing requirement, and to inquire about the status of your filing with the Department, your email must be directed to [e-mail].

All questions related to COVID-19 should be sent to [e-mail] and a member of the District of Columbia's Emergency Operations Center will triage the email to the appropriate subject matter expert for a timely response. For the most up to date information regarding COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and other resources, please visit https://coronavirus.dc.gov/.

To schedule an appointment/request a meeting, contact Ms. Tanya Bethel, Executive Assistant, at [e-mail].

LaQuandra Nesbitt has been completely unresponsive to parents' concerns throughout the pandemic. When citizens asked for metrics / off-ramps for COVID restrictions in schools this year, including masks and long quarantines, not only did she refuse to provide any, but she claimed she was being "bullied." She is a joke and after writing to her office many times, (as did many other parents I know) she only sends that same canned response. She needs to be held accountable for the fact that she is refusing to provide basic information to the public (parents in particular).

Her claim of being bullied for receiving public feedback demonstrates she's unfit for public office.

DC faired remarkably well during the pandemic in terms of hospitalization usage, vaccination rates, and other important factors. Maybe turn the hysteria dial down a bit? She is not your personal health concierge. And she is not refusing to provide basic health information to the public. Get a grip.

Cry more about being bullied.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Just got an email from our dcps school that masks are still required for staff, students and visitors on school grounds - outside and inside. So let me get this straight - starting March 1 I can stop wearing my mask inside the grocery store but have to put it back on to pick up my kid from school outside?!?! Does the mayor have the power to stop this nonsense or is it DCPS?

You can thank the parents for this. DCPS wouldn’t feel confident being entirely in opposition to CDC guidelines if they didn’t think the majority of parents were supportive of it.

Time to start making noise if you want things to change.

What’s the best way to make noise? Asking seriously.

I would also like to know. My kids are at a charter, but I'm hoping it'll follow whatever DCPS does. How do we advocate?

Emails, phone calls, petitions to anyone and everyone involved - the mayor, heath officials, school boards, principals, PTAs, your local ANC reps. Basically anyone you can think of in/near DC government who has any platform to speak out in opposition to this.

The only people who have a say on this matter are LaQuandra Nesbitt at DC Health and (possibly to a lesser extent) the mayor. [e-mail]

When I send an email to her at that address I get the below note. And that contact Tanya d also not there. Seems like they have no interest in hearing from anyone.

Thank you for your email. I continue to receive a high volume of email at this address. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as response times may be delayed.

All questions regarding the notice of non-compliance with the District of Columbia Department of Health Vaccination mandate filing requirement, and to inquire about the status of your filing with the Department, your email must be directed to [e-mail].

All questions related to COVID-19 should be sent to [e-mail] and a member of the District of Columbia's Emergency Operations Center will triage the email to the appropriate subject matter expert for a timely response. For the most up to date information regarding COVID-19 testing, vaccines, and other resources, please visit https://coronavirus.dc.gov/.

To schedule an appointment/request a meeting, contact Ms. Tanya Bethel, Executive Assistant, at [e-mail].

LaQuandra Nesbitt has been completely unresponsive to parents' concerns throughout the pandemic. When citizens asked for metrics / off-ramps for COVID restrictions in schools this year, including masks and long quarantines, not only did she refuse to provide any, but she claimed she was being "bullied." She is a joke and after writing to her office many times, (as did many other parents I know) she only sends that same canned response. She needs to be held accountable for the fact that she is refusing to provide basic information to the public (parents in particular).

Her claim of being bullied for receiving public feedback demonstrates she's unfit for public office.

DC faired remarkably well during the pandemic in terms of hospitalization usage, vaccination rates, and other important factors. Maybe turn the hysteria dial down a bit? She is not your personal health concierge. And she is not refusing to provide basic health information to the public. Get a grip.

Dying laughing. The vaccine rollout in DC was such a disaster, that members of the council were openly criticizing residents who, after weeks of waiting, were driven to travel to North Caroline for the vaccine. Their press secretaries were threatening to drive to Maryland and doxx anyone with a DC plate in any CVS parking lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC ends mask mandate for schools:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/new-york-mask-mandate-schools.html

I believe that’s NY state. NYC said they are still reviewing and will decide next week. I think DC will follow.

https://abc7ny.com/amp/mask-mandate-school-new-york-state-kathy-hochul/11607641/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Newbie here. Will the community based daycares follow DCPS on masks or do they follow other local governance?

It's all about OSSE for our daycare. They will not change a thing until OSSE specifically says "no more masks" or "reduce your quarantine."

Our daycare also still has a 7 day travel quarantine in effect as required because DC never took down the language that it is "recommended" for unvaccinated people. It's insanity.

When DC finally does act on dropping school and daycare mask requirements, OSSE is going to have to be very, very specific that they should be dropped.

Yu Ying is still requiring a 7-day travel quarantine for the unvaccinated (ie, all PK3 and PK4 families) leaving the DMV because of the DC Health “recommendation”.

They can "require" it all they want, but if no one gives a shit and everyone ignores it, is it really a requirement?

If an unvaccinated kid mentions at school that they went somewhere, Yu Ying pulls them out of the classroom and sends them home for the remaining 10 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Newbie here. Will the community based daycares follow DCPS on masks or do they follow other local governance?

It's all about OSSE for our daycare. They will not change a thing until OSSE specifically says "no more masks" or "reduce your quarantine."

Our daycare also still has a 7 day travel quarantine in effect as required because DC never took down the language that it is "recommended" for unvaccinated people. It's insanity.

When DC finally does act on dropping school and daycare mask requirements, OSSE is going to have to be very, very specific that they should be dropped.

Yu Ying is still requiring a 7-day travel quarantine for the unvaccinated (ie, all PK3 and PK4 families) leaving the DMV because of the DC Health “recommendation”.

They can "require" it all they want, but if no one gives a shit and everyone ignores it, is it really a requirement?

If an unvaccinated kid mentions at school that they went somewhere, Yu Ying pulls them out of the classroom and sends them home for the remaining 10 days.

Good lord, really? All this does is teach people to get their kids to lie at this stage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NYC ends mask mandate for schools:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/new-york-mask-mandate-schools.html

I believe that’s NY state. NYC said they are still reviewing and will decide next week. I think DC will follow.

https://abc7ny.com/amp/mask-mandate-school-new-york-state-kathy-hochul/11607641/

"Mayor Eric Adams announced on Sunday that New York City was poised to eliminate school mask mandates and vaccine requirements for restaurants, gyms and movie theaters, by March 7, if case numbers remain low."
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/28/world/covid-19-tests-cases-vaccine

[Anonymous]

Will DC be the last place in the country to force schoolchildren to mask?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will DC be the last place in the country to force schoolchildren to mask?

I think it'll be PG county. We will be next-to-last.

I'm thinking if NYC and MOCO end their school mask mandates around March 8th, then DC will do so shortly thereafter, if not at the same time.

[Anonymous]

https://twitter.com/ADarcyMahoney/status/1498365010816512008?s=20&t=YxLWDZHKVUpZ6fSDKlu71w

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/ADarcyMahoney/status/1498365010816512008?s=20&t=YxLWDZHKVUpZ6fSDKlu71w

That’s so f’ed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://twitter.com/ADarcyMahoney/status/1498365010816512008?s=20&t=YxLWDZHKVUpZ6fSDKlu71w

That’s so f’ed up.

the arrogrance of this is really infuriating. does she really know better than the CDC and the leaders of th vast majority of states and cities in the US?

[Anonymous]

I think the issue is that the CDC is still working on updating their school guidance. They have made it clear though that their new masking guidelines WILL apply to schools, so the recommendation to unmask at schools is coming. The CDC's school guidance website currenly says this:

"CDC’s new COVID-19 Community Levels recommendations align precautions for educational settings with those for other community settings. CDC is in the process of updating this page with these new recommendations. Updates will be posted here when available."
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communit...s-childcare/k-12-guidance.html

DC Health's webpage has the identical message:

"CDC's new COVID-19 Community Levels recommendations align precautions for educational settings with those for other community settings. DC Health is in the process of updating this page with these new recommendations. Updates will be posted here when available."
https://coronavirus.dc.gov/healthguidance

So clearly DC Health is planning on following the CDC once the CDC makes it official for schools.

Woohoo!

[Anonymous]

CA, OR, NY, WA all announced they're dropping school mask mandates. DC is officially the only "state" in the nation requiring kids to wear masks. Bowser is such a disgrace. Unfortunately there's nobody more sane running against her...