Reply to MCPS Community COVID update

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would have hoped that by now we would mention air ventilation, air filtration and masking as things that would actually help reduce transmission in the classrooms.  Covid is Airborne, we fight it by concentrating on keeping it out of the air, diluting it, or removing it from the air.

If you want your kid to have more time in the classroom, think about masking at least some of the time during this uptick in cases, so it doesn't increase to a full surge.

Ask your schools to make sure their ventilation is bringing in fresh air.  The CDC recommends 5 air changes an hour.  Fans and open windows help.  Air filters help when bringing in more fresh air is impossible.

We know the tools to keep kids healthy and in the classroom.  We just need to use them

[/quote]

So open the windows and let the 100 degree air into the classroom?[/quote].

Yes. Rooms are still air conditioned and windows only have to be opened a crack to improve ventilation. [/quote]

You should review thermodynamics again.

If you're relying on opened windows to give you six air changes per hour, the AC certainly isn't going to be able to keep up during 90F+ days.
[/quote]

Just relying on better air exchange alone isn't going to help given the studies about how far airborne viruses can go.  You need multiple levels of mitigation from air quality to masking to distancing, just as a start.  For colds and flu, MCPS needs to do daily cleanings, especially in MS and HS where kids go between 7-8 classes a day and lunch plus extra activities.

Its stilly to argue about better ventilation when its not going to do anything when kids are sitting very close and the halls are jammed packed.[/quote]

And that is when improved ventilation can have the biggest impact. Amazing isn’t it?[/quote]

What on earth are you talking about?  They cannot improve ventilation enough to stop covid given there is no social distancing, no masking and people send in their kids sick as they are too selfish to stay home and care for them.  Please show us the studies where improved ventilation alone will stop covid.  I have googled and cannot find any.[/quote]

Too bad your google is broken. 
Yes, improving ventilation stops covid transmission. Mcps knows this that is why they have spent millions to monitor indoor air. They just aren’t going to tell you what their data shows because Mcknight is not a fan of open communication. [/quote]

Sounds like you should write a FOIA request. Until then, you look like a troll.[/quote]

FOIA? Guess you are the troll. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency.

MCPS is not a federal agency.[/quote]

That's right.  If you want to sue MCPS, pursue an MPIA.

I also need to correct the person who made the statement:
"What on earth are you talking about?  They cannot improve ventilation enough to stop covid given there is no social distancing, no masking and people send in their kids sick as they are too selfish to stay home and care for them.  Please show us the studies where improved ventilation alone will stop covid.  I have googled and cannot find any."

DP.  Improved ventilation alone will not stop covid.  Ex.
"While HEPA filters can significantly reduce the viral load in room air, this does not lead to reduced COVID-19 prevalence in the selected kindergartens in Germany. It is known that contagion mainly occurs via direct face-to-face air exchange during play and that the contaminated air does not necessarily pass through the filter prior to air exchange between children. "
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/7/e072284

Viruses work on physics and the keyword here is "viral load".  The higher the concentration of virus in the air, the more the body's natural immune system has to fight, and the less time it has to generate white blood cells before the viral load (replication rate) overwhelms the immune system's ability to keep up.  Both N95 masking and air filtration at high MERV levels helps reduce, not eliminate, exposure and reduces your body's viral load accumulation.  The trick is to reduce the amount of exposure long enough for your own body to detect the covid virus on it's own, then generate enough white blood cells to eliminate a serious infection / buildup of the virus.

"The layout and design of a building, as well as occupancy and type of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, can all impact potential airborne spread of the virus."
https://www.epa.gov/coronavirus/indoor-air-and-coronavirus-covid-19

"This cohort study suggests that having incident SARS-CoV-2 G614 infection was associated with a rapid viral load peak followed by slower decay. COVID-19 symptom onset generally coincided with peak viral load, which correlated positively with symptom severity."
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2787768

"Slight reduction in SARS-CoV-2 exposure viral load due to masking results in a significant reduction in transmission with widespread implementation." 
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-91338-5#:~:text=Slight%20reduction%20in%20SARS%2DCoV,Scientific%20Reports

Although there was one study (that was a bit hokey) disputing these generalizations, the majority of the evidence is consistent.  Ex.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8926507/
https://www.vcuhealth.org/news/covid-19/breakthrough-infections-viral-load-what-does-this-mean-to-you
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00822-w
https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/covid19-national-project/2023/01/09/how-we-know-that-hepa-filter-based-air-cleaners-are-likely-to-be-beneficial-for-reducing-transmission-of-respiratory-infections/

However wearing an ineffective mask (e.g. not sealed over the mouth and nose, less than N95 level, etc.), which I've seen a number of teachers and students do, is an ineffective protection measure.  Most importantly, anyone coughing must wear a mask.[/quote]

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