If the county isn't allowed to placed a mask mandate in the classroom

[Anonymous]

I heard one of the co-sponsors of SB 1303 also saying the Order violated the law. This is what the media coverage should be focusing on.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else think the EO seems a bit juvenile in how it is written? It doesn't come across to me as very gubernatorial.

[Anonymous]

It will go to the courts. And school will be out for summer before it’s decided. Thank goodness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The CDC recommends many things that FCPS chooses not to follow. Why are we stuck on only the masking recommendation?

Such as? Just curious.

- 3 feet of distancing
- screening testing
- cohorting
- 6 feet of distance between staff and students
- canceling band, choir, plays/musicals, and other activities that involve singing or shouting
- canceling high-risk indoor sports such as basketball and wrestling

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some say with the airborne nature of omicron, most masks are just decorative. And most kids aren’t really affected by Covid including omicron in a way that warrants masking and the like. Time to move on. People who need protecting, have vaccines now. Kids don’t need masks.

“Some say” LOL

Exactly. Who is “some”? Steve Bannon?

CNN medical analyst?

"Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There's no place for them in light of Omicron,"

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/24/health/cloth-mask-omicron-variant-wellness/index.html

The doc you quote (Wen, at GWU) very clearly advocates for wearing a better mask—not ditching masks altogether because some types are not effective against omicron. She also has said many times that everyone—including kids—DO need to be wearing masks. Your original post was framed as an argument to do away with masking but the stance of expert you cite to back up your post couldn’t be further from that.

Have you seen the masks kids wear at school and how they wear them? I’d agree that a class room full of kids wearing N95s would be ideal but that just isn’t the case and won’t be. But let’s be realistic on what we are protecting kids from with these masks i these ideal conditions… a cold equivalent in most cases, while vaccines are available to kids and parents alike to protect themselves. Now kids will be strapped up all day in n95s for something people can protect themselves against and rarely even affects kids?

Yes. Because kids themselves can get pretty sick and even die. Even if rare, I’m all for taking easy steps to avoid that, no matter how rare. Also, unmasking kids in schools means that all of those unmasked kids who pick up the virus will then take it home and everywhere else they go, contributing to the spread to susceptible/vulnerable people

It’s weird we weren’t doing this for the flu which killed 3-6 children every year in VA. So far since Covid started the past two years, there have been 17 pediatric deaths in VA. It’s tragic, but not worth flipping school upside down. Plus why ignore the fact that the vaccine is available to all these children? A lot has changed since March 2020. Time to adapt.

Never mind. 12 pediatric deaths in VA. Roughly the same rate of our flu deaths in VA.

. That is 12 deaths while masked, not unmasked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The CDC recommends many things that FCPS chooses not to follow. Why are we stuck on only the masking recommendation?

Such as? Just curious.

- 3 feet of distancing
- screening testing
- cohorting
- 6 feet of distance between staff and students
- canceling band, choir, plays/musicals, and other activities that involve singing or shouting
- canceling high-risk indoor sports such as basketball and wrestling

Oh, I thought you meant in other categories of things, not just covid crap. I’m sick of covid. We certainly aren’t doing any of those silly recs, thank god. They need to update their guidance to reflect how mild omicron is.

[Anonymous]

I am a teacher and it will be impossible to enforce. Kids will stop wearing them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some say with the airborne nature of omicron, most masks are just decorative. And most kids aren’t really affected by Covid including omicron in a way that warrants masking and the like. Time to move on. People who need protecting, have vaccines now. Kids don’t need masks.

“Some say” LOL

Exactly. Who is “some”? Steve Bannon?

CNN medical analyst?

"Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There's no place for them in light of Omicron,"

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/24/health/cloth-mask-omicron-variant-wellness/index.html

The doc you quote (Wen, at GWU) very clearly advocates for wearing a better mask—not ditching masks altogether because some types are not effective against omicron. She also has said many times that everyone—including kids—DO need to be wearing masks. Your original post was framed as an argument to do away with masking but the stance of expert you cite to back up your post couldn’t be further from that.

Have you seen the masks kids wear at school and how they wear them? I’d agree that a class room full of kids wearing N95s would be ideal but that just isn’t the case and won’t be. But let’s be realistic on what we are protecting kids from with these masks i these ideal conditions… a cold equivalent in most cases, while vaccines are available to kids and parents alike to protect themselves. Now kids will be strapped up all day in n95s for something people can protect themselves against and rarely even affects kids?

Yes. Because kids themselves can get pretty sick and even die. Even if rare, I’m all for taking easy steps to avoid that, no matter how rare. Also, unmasking kids in schools means that all of those unmasked kids who pick up the virus will then take it home and everywhere else they go, contributing to the spread to susceptible/vulnerable people

It’s weird we weren’t doing this for the flu which killed 3-6 children every year in VA. So far since Covid started the past two years, there have been 17 pediatric deaths in VA. It’s tragic, but not worth flipping school upside down. Plus why ignore the fact that the vaccine is available to all these children? A lot has changed since March 2020. Time to adapt.

Never mind. 12 pediatric deaths in VA. Roughly the same rate of our flu deaths in VA.

. That is 12 deaths while masked, not unmasked.

With alpha and delta and no vaccines.

Omicron and vaccines have changed things and so should our strategy. Milder strain with vaccine protection for those who want it plus people could wear better masks if they want to actually protect themselves. Obviously Youngkins political theatre won’t mean much this year, but Covid isn’t going away next year. Time to move on.

[Anonymous]

So how much admin leave do teachers get if they have covid and are symptomatic? Is it still 10 days per occurrence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and it will be impossible to enforce. Kids will stop wearing them.

I am a teacher and you will be surprised how well peer pressure works. If everyone else is wearing a mask, all my kids wear masks. Even the belligerent ones whose mom and dad have told them masks are useless still wear their masks in class. They tell me what mom and dad have said to them, but the mask stays on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So how much admin leave do teachers get if they have covid and are symptomatic? Is it still 10 days per occurrence?

No, 5 days and then back while masked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how much admin leave do teachers get if they have covid and are symptomatic? Is it still 10 days per occurrence?

No, 5 days and then back while masked.

That's 5 days if you are asymptomatic, or your symptoms are resolving and you are fever free without reducing meds for at least 24 hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and it will be impossible to enforce. Kids will stop wearing them.

I am a teacher and you will be surprised how well peer pressure works. If everyone else is wearing a mask, all my kids wear masks. Even the belligerent ones whose mom and dad have told them masks are useless still wear their masks in class. They tell me what mom and dad have said to them, but the mask stays on.

That might be at your school but it’s not the case at other schools. Since the executive order has been issued, more and more kids will not be wearing their masks and teachers are going to have to choose between teaching content and making their goals and being law-enforcement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and it will be impossible to enforce. Kids will stop wearing them.

I am a teacher and you will be surprised how well peer pressure works. If everyone else is wearing a mask, all my kids wear masks. Even the belligerent ones whose mom and dad have told them masks are useless still wear their masks in class. They tell me what mom and dad have said to them, but the mask stays on.

That might be at your school but it’s not the case at other schools. Since the executive order has been issued, more and more kids will not be wearing their masks and teachers are going to have to choose between teaching content and making their goals and being law-enforcement.

I doubt that this will be the case. The EO is meaningless. FCPS statement is clear. Nothing has changed. Kids who come to school unmasked will be promptly provided with a mask. Those who refuse will be sent to the clinic to wait for a parent to come and take them home. I don’t think there will be any issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how much admin leave do teachers get if they have covid and are symptomatic? Is it still 10 days per occurrence?

No, 5 days and then back while masked.

That's 5 days if you are asymptomatic, or your symptoms are resolving and you are fever free without reducing meds for at least 24 hours.

A teacher at my school just finished up with 8 days, and she is 32 and VERY healthy, just could shake a couple symptoms. Not everyone is 4 and done.