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

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[quote=Anonymous][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]

As you said, Covid is here to stay, so we need learn to live with it. We should be moving on to sustainable policies, and not overreact whenever there’s an increase in cases. This is how we approach the flu- do you see people freaking out every winter when there’s a “surge” in flu cases? No. We take simple precautions, like flu shots, and accept some risk in order to continue our lives.

There’s no reason to think our current situation isn’t about as good as it’s going to get. Hospitalizations and deaths in people that have been vaccinated aged and boosted are low. And there's a high degree of immunity from vaccination and infection during the January omicron surge. Case numbers will ebb and flow over time, varying based on actual changes in infections as well as based on changes in testing practices, but we have every reason to think our current situation will be a common occurrence.  So anyone talking about mask mandates or required quarantine periods is effectively proposing those as permanent practices.[/quote]

I have taught in schools that had to close for flu outbreaks. They spent a few days disinfecting the school and letting people recover at home. You can’t run a school without an adequate number of staff regardless of how many students are healthy on a given day. [/quote]

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