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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Masks optional by spring break
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Anonymous
i mean 3300 died yesterday but ok |
Anonymous
that doesn't mean pretending it doesn't exist |
Anonymous
3,300 people died in MoCo? Really? I completely understand and appreciate that the pandemic isn't over yet, because it's not. But FFS, these kinds of decisions need to be made at the local level to account for the local level of risk, because that varies wildly. MoCo is not, in fact, Mississippi. |
Anonymous
That does not apply to schools. Frederick BOE votes on Wednesday |
Anonymous
Staying at home to stop the spread made sense in March/April of 2020. It doesn't make sense two year later |
Anonymous
Perhaps my claim was imprecise, is what I meant. Our bodies had never seen covid before was all I was trying to say. However the irony is, had covid been as hot of a virus as, say, SARS, we would not be having this argument because it wouldn't have been spread so carelessly. The real danger with covid is that it doesn't kill or cripple everyone. Polio didn't either. Neither did measles. Unfortunately, so many seem to take the attitude that since it didn't kill *them,* it's all fine and harmless. But 3.300 Americans dying yesterday isn't a mild virus. Even if it was NBD for you, you are a link in the chain that brings suffering to others. I completely understand sending kids to school and carrying in with life--we're traveling this summer come hell or high water--but I don't understand why you wouldn't take preventative measures right now, just as you'd take precautions while driving your car, or having unprotected sex with a prostitute. (I figure at least one of those comparisons might be something you can find relatable.) I'm thrilled that the metrics are good. They're better than I expected and that's fantastic. Huzzah. That also doesn't mean that masking or not masking isn't being weaponized in a way that has nothing to do with public health. You only need look at vast amount of misinformation that's been pushed here (and here it's mild compared to Twitter and other social media sites), to note that there's a coordinated effort going on to tie this all to the gender wars, CRT, and all the other *scary* threats that are apparently threatening our children. Masks are tyranny! Overturn those school boards! There's a host of covid disinformation rolling along with that that's going to make it very difficult to put the genie back in the bottle should we have another serious surge. While I am perfectly willing to discuss relaxing some restrictions with people who believe covid is a real thing, I think we need to realize that relaxing restrictions may make numbers go back up, and that in doing so we will be putting other people at risk. I know for you that seems to be Tuesday, and life is risk. All the other platitudes you've thrown around obviously work on your conscience. It's a bit harder for my high school bud T, the single dad who lost his wife to cancer who just started chemo himself. It's a bit harder for M, my friend who's a high school teacher with a toddler who's too young to be vaccinated. Kinda sucks for my aunt with lupus, too. "But what's the altnernative?" You cry. "Should we be masked forever?" No. I'm optimistic that we might be out of this hellscape in the spring. But I don't see the point in rushing headlong in. Not getting the under fives vaccinated first seems insane, for one. Establishing a coherent testing policy to catch it if cases start up again also seems wise. I'd also recommend doing something to counteract the Cato trolls who have hijacked public health for their own ends. |
Anonymous
yea sure but original commenter wasn't talking about MoCo. They just blanket stated that things weren't horrible in January, and in fact things were horrible in Maryland with record cases, hospitalizations, and deaths |
Anonymous
I work in an mcps school as a non-classroom teacher so I have a good view of what was going on across multiple classrooms. I noticed that a lot of kids missed school due to quarantining or just because of their parents' covid related concerns. In some cases we would have over half the class absent. When teachers were out it was almost impossible to get subs. Some kids missed multiple weeks of school due to consecutive quarantines. I would argue that the mandatory quarantine and school closures had more of an impact on education than the actual illnesses. I believe that it makes sense to lift the mask mandate in the spring I think realistically it will not happen until the end of the school year just because I know how Mcps works and they are trying to placate two warring factions of parents. I could see the logic of bringing back a mask mandate if the level of infection was as high as it was in January if that would help people feel more comfortable sending their children to school and reduce the number of students/staff having to quarrantine. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
It would be much easier to trust that your intentions are good if your posts weren't so consistently full of assumptions, accusations, and outright garbage. As it is, you write like someone who solely wants attention for demonstrating how much more concerned with COVID you are about anyone else, even while you *still* don't realize that good health is not solely the absence of COVID. |
Anonymous
Why do you feel it is necessary to wait for vaccines for the under five crowd? Their actual risk for long COVID or hospitalization will likely be very very similar after vaccination because their actual risk is so low. It’s going to be a big challenge for manufacturers to show improvement over that starting risk level. You should look up the actual rates of hospitalization or death for young children in Maryland; high rates of adult vaccination help some too. If you are worried about spread well vaccination does stop that completely either so while it might be a good thing I don’t understand why it’s “insane” to feel like vaccination availability for this group is not really that important to public health overall especially divorced from overall case rates and hospital capacity. |
Anonymous
*doesn’t stop spread completely |
Anonymous
Because I personally know a kid who almost died from mis-c. And I have several friends with kids under five. It concerns them so it concerns me. I also know a few young kids who have had it multiple times. Maybe they'll be fine and maybe they won't. We don't know. Your point are logical, and were it not for the personal I would agree. Why is wearing a mask so someone with cancer doesn't catch covid from you in a classroom so difficult for you? Oh, not in a classroom? Working from home, in fact. Hrmm. |
Anonymous
For me it’s fine, I will wear a mask indefinitely if I have to. My young son can’t be understood in his mask and has nearly stopped talking at preschool aside from meals, when he is not masked. I know this is the case for at least one other child in his room. Both his teachers have voiced their frustration with the kids still having to wear masks all the time. My elementary school age child tolerated masks ok but will not wear glasses that they need because they fog up. It’s a real problem for some kids. |
Anonymous
Because under 5 don't live alone?????????? This week our neighbor's entire family is home with COVID transmitted to home from preschooler. Parents can't work, siblings can't go to school, but really why give a crap about other people? Let them lose their jobs and let their kids miss school. This is now a poor persons pandemic. The rich don't give a f&*%. |