Reply to Why aren’t schools with high COVID rates masking?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This discussion has become ridiculous, but an interesting issue is being raised: the impact of masking for younger children who are in before and aftercare and, therefore, required to mask for many hours per day.

All children must attend public school (unless other arrangements are made). Nearly everyone agrees that virtual schooling is not a long-term solution for most kids and works very poorly for many. Given that COVID is here to stay and we are currently in a surge, it is fair to say "no masks" in school at all during periods of significant community spread simply because some kids attend before and aftercare.

I wish more people were reasonable and not screaming about being done with masks. Masks should be worn by those with symptoms, those returning after being positive, and those who have been exposed (although I could live without that). If people embrace only the "no masks required" part of the CDC guidance but completely ignore the advice about staying home when sick, testing, and masking with a high-quality mask when you have symptoms or when returning or if a close contact, some cases could be prevented. Sure, one-way masking offers personal protection, but it is less effective when so there are so many cases and when people feel entitled to send maskless kids to school or to ignore testing and isolation advice. You can't wear an N-95 for an entire day without eating or drinking some water. [/quote]

I suspect many of us who are reasonable are worn out by so-called “reasonable” demands.  If kids had the option for in-person starting in September 2020, or been able to return without masks in September 2021, I think you’d see more flexibility now.  But the policies have been so restrictive, for so long that even many reasonable people are just… done.  That’s the problem with focusing solely on the trees and missing the forest.  Most people won’t indefinitely comply with restrictions *especially* when the most dire predictions haven’t been borne out.  When you cry wolf repeatedly that schools are death traps, and it turns out they aren’t anything close, and you STILL insist they are, well, you get where we are now.

When my DH tested positive at home, we immediately rapid tested the kids (all vaccinated, all in elementary).  They were negative, so we sent them in wearing KN95s.  That’s reasonable.  Not reasonable: insisting they should quarantine at home for 10 days, even though they don’t have COVID.

Similarly, it’s not reasonable to expect kids who have zero COVID symptoms, especially when vaccinated, to wear masks for… how long, exactly?  Until some segment of the population is “comfortable”?  Enough.[/quote]

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