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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][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]

So anyone talking about mask mandates or required quarantine periods is effectively proposing those as permanent practices.[/quote]

Only in your own deranged fever-brain.

You keep making this simplistic argument over and over again like a parrot. "If we do this now it will be forever! So we can't!"

There's no logic that exists that makes that true in the real world. What the future holds depends on factors we can influence and predict, but not know. Things we do know: getting covid repeatedly is bad for you. It's bad for your kids.

So I get your state of denial about it. It's sad, but understandable. But, again, a sane dad would make every effort to make sure his kids didn't keep catching it [/quote]

Given that hospitalizations and deaths from covid aren't particularly high right now, the main arguement in favor of more restrictions would be the overall case rate. But our current case rate already reflects the result of high levels of immunity combined with unsustainable quarantine and testing practices. Given that selective pressure heavily favor more transmissible variants, it isn't rational to think we can sustain significantly lower case rates than what we're seeing right now.

So, if you're still arguing for masks, quarantines, and school closures now, when would it end? We know it's not going to get less contagious. It's already a fairly mild illness for vast majority of people that are vaccinated. With what we know about the vaccines under development, there's no reason to suspect a much more effective vaccine is near.

So no, perhaps you're not arguing for masking and restrictions "forever," but you do seem to be arguing for them for the foreseeable future.
[/quote]

There are two things I advise.

1.) Masking in indoor spaces, or crowded outdoor spaces.
2.) Vaccinations and boosters.

I don't find those things particularly restrictive, certainly less restrictive than missing a week of school sick with COVID, but my family hasn't had COVID because we follow those precautions, so perhaps we aren't as expert as your family at wandering around coughing on people.

I don't plan on doing those two things "forever," either, but I'm certainly going to do them in a surge, which is where we are now.

When cases aren't surging, we relax. A bit. When cases are surging, we mask. It's not hard. [/quote]

DP, but what does your relaxing “a bit” look like exactly?  I’m genuinely curious, because reading between the lines, your post suggests you plan to continue masking indefinitely.  I don’t find it hard at all to mask at the grocery store.  Asking my young children to mask all day long at school, indefinitely, is another story altogether.  So if relaxing “a bit” means kids still need to mask in schools, that’s a non-starter[/quote]

I do what I can not to spread a virus that can have debilitating long-term effects for others. I'm not sure what magical shield you think has been protecting your kids from COVID this far, or, frankly, why you aren't more pissed off that the BOE hasn't done more to keep your kids safe in school...?

This isn't about your convenience. Or your kid's convenience. I'm baffled by the people who think a year of junior high basketball is more important. [/quote]

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