We have our first case in awhile in my little office. I don’t think his boss was supposed to be telling everyone, but I appreciate it. Co-worker is fully vaxd - the same time as the rest of our office. He caught it from his middle schooler. Co-worker so far just has a runny nose. I’m glad we had a 3 day weekend. He works a lot outside, so I should be good.
One of our middle schools is now closed for 2 days due to a huge increase in cases and to do a thorough cleaning to make it “safe.” Of course, the official meter is still showing just 8 cases over the entire last month. uh huh.
A school system in my news area was having several cases and decided to test 1800 students/kids. They found almost 200 cases and shut everything down. I have a feeling that is a more representative figure of what’s going around these parts.
I’m almost afraid to ask, but what are the allowed exemptions for the mask mandate?
I haven’t really heard of school masking exemptions here (California) outside of really specialized situations, like students with profound disabilities for whom masking might pose a choking hazard. For example, a good friend has a special needs teenager (CP, intellectual disability) and he and his special day classmates have been masking in school all along. True, they need a lot of reminders to keep them on properly, but they do mask.
Sounds like your school is expecting a lot of students to qualify for an exemption . . .
In our district, 30% have opted out - no reason needed. Already closed a school, tons of cases. In Nashville/Memphis - they don’t take religious exemptions. Had zero medical exemptions requested - know why? you can breathe fine in the masks. their covid is a scintilla of ours.
D1 is starting her third week of teaching kindergarteners in California. Masks are required in the classroom for all. D1 says the kids have been great about wearing masks and most of her class keeps them on when outside too (except when eating). Her school is a K-8 charter school. There is no mixing of classes so if there are any positive cases they will (hopefully) only have to close a class and not the whole school to quarantine.
The " I can’t breathe through a mask" is a farce. You get used to breathing through a mask. On another board someone made an anti-masking comment to the effect of “duh, you can smell someone’s perfume through a mask, how effective can it be!”
1–If gases could not pass through a mask, the wearer would suffocate and die.
2–A virus particle, small as it is, is still WAY bigger than a typical molecule.
I just looked at the form and they appear to be medical or mental health conditions. If the student doesn’t have an IEP or 504 already, “Can you provide documentation” is a question (Y/N). That’s probably easy to get if one looks on the internet long enough.
If the student didn’t have an exemption last year when the mandate was in force they also need to say what’s changed. That may be a harder issue to overcome IF Powers That Be are going to use this “correctly.”
Even then, Covid doesn’t care what issues someone has. If they have it and are in close quarters with others, esp unmasked, it’ll spread.
The whole I cant breath thing is just amazing. I have two year olds in my office wear a mask without issue. My 15 year old has figured out how to play flute with a mask on. The kids dont even realize it if they are wearing them, it is so upsetting to see childrens’ hospitals full because adults are so stupid.
I have really bad lungs but when I buy and wear the right masks, have no problems breathing with them. Sure, some masks are harder to breathe through than others and some are more protective than others.
There’s a series of excellent videos by an independent mechanical engineer, Aaron Collins on YouTube that review many different masks and put them and sources and comments in a spreadsheet. That was how I found breathable, protective masks.
I have a brother in law who is part of the “I can’t breathe” brigade. Yet he’s going on vacation to Florida, of all places next week. He’ll probably get away with flaunting the mask rule in the terminal, but no way on the plane. I hope I don’t read or hear about another “in-air incident”.
Yup—that’s Aaron Collins. I have great respect for him and the work he selflessly did to help sort through the mask jungle so those who are interested can be protective, and wear breathable masks.
Brands and styles DO make a big difference in ability to wear a mask for long time periods, especially did those of us with very bad lungs.
Yes, I bought the Airgami and Savewo ultra masks and like them both. I have also given out a few of the Savewo ultra masks and ordered the next larger size for myself (had a medium box and am getting large box).
People have been quite pleased with these masks. My PT says her S can do his sports in a Savewo ultra size small mask. Aaron Collins said he believed he could exercise in his Savewo mask and wears it all day for work.
The normal surgical masks are too “gappy” to adequately protect and when you tie the ties close to the mask and tuck in the extra material to make them more fitted, I find them hard to breathe with.
Oh yea, I am hosting a webinar on Friday and giving Airgami gift cards to each of my speakers as a token of appreciation, supporting their copd, reusable US-made breathable, protective product!
Apparently there is a bomb threat at a nearby high school. So they sent a large group of kids to congregate in my hallway. Like this isn’t a covid hotbed right now. Great. I may have to double mask to get out of here. And somehow I bet if one of them turns up positive in the next or two, they won’t consider any of this as an exposure. (They didn’t when they had the tornado warning and were sandwiched in school hallways for 25 min.)
If you’re in a school that doesn’t mask, then you’ll be fine - because the parents at those schools will send their kids to school covid or not. So you’re going to see spikes at one point or another regardless.
It’s the schools that don’t mask that likely have the parents who don’t believe in it - so the superintendents cave.
The number of cases actually went down for the week starting 9/6
Number of students w/ Covid–88 (previous week 105)
Number of staff w/Covid --15 ( Previous week 27)
Number of school sites reporting Covid cases-- 50 (previous week 59)
Masks for everyone required in all school buildings. Masks required on all school buses. All school staff are required to be vaccinated. Individuals exempted for medical or religious reasons must undergo weekly covid testing. Elementary students eat at their desks. Middle and high school students eat outdoors. Student athletes in all contact sports must wear masks during practice, even if practice is held outdoors.
From a relatively local school board meeting (not mine):
Loud Attendee: Why are you listening to the solicitor instead of the people? The people are telling you what we want!
What I wish I could have responded: Ma’am, we already get complaints about how high school taxes are. Do you really want us to increase them to fund a lawsuit our solicitor thinks we’re likely to lose?
Come on folks… have some sort of common sense, esp at a school board meeting.