What was the point of masks in school for the past year?

[aggie96]

Our 115,000+ school district just announced that they are lifting the mask mandate on June 7. Given that 75-80% of kids were face-to-face in our high specific high school, it was impossible to space everyone out. Plexi-glass corner dividers (not 3-wall variety) were installed on desks, still set in 2x2 formation, shielding nothing.

Now, my kid was virtual first semester and had to go face-to-face second semester to participate in varsity band. We mask. We move around within the community and attend things--masked and distanced even when it wasn't required or easily accommodated. Adults have been vaccinated. Older, high-risk adults in our family have been vaccinated. But my 11yo,13yo, and 16yo can't even be vaccinated yet.

Why, oh why, oh why, couldn't they wait to lift the mask mandate until AFTER vaccinations for all 115,000 kids were approved? Why did my DD have to miss 10 days of school because of contact tracing because the teacher removed the shield in her classroom this semester if 3 months later it doesn't matter if they are sitting shoulder to shoulder with an infected person with no PPE measures? I mean seriously, DD has played both and instrument and colorguard fully in a mask no matter the temperature (9-95 degrees), length of time (12-13 hours/day), heavy exercising, etc. What was the point? Our specific zip code is reporting about 22% vaccinated (pop. about 91k). Lots of kids in that 90k. Most do not even have an option to be vaccinated. Think about that; on my block of 21 houses (approx. 42 adults/40 children), only 18/82 people have been vaccinated. There are about 6 homeschoolers and 36 b&m school kids.

On top of that, DD13, DD15, and I attended a children's theater production last weekend. This was to see a bestie (who we haven't seen but once in the last year) in a major role. Previously, it was held in a large auditorium. When we purchased tickets in February for the April performance, it was to be held in a large venue, seating in spread-out pods with masks. Because the state-mask mandate was lifted and Texas was "open", they apparently changed the mask and seating. We found out when we arrived. Venue was small-ish school gym/cafeteria that had a low stage. Chairs were "butt-to-nut" as my husband would colorfully say. There were about 300 chairs. I was concerned. BUT we were wearing our extra protective masks and decided to avoid the lobby, intermission, etc. Get-in-get-out maneuvering as best we can. Once seated, DD points out that we are 3 of about 15 people in the entire room wearing a mask. Then, big guy 3ft behind us hacks up a lung leaning forward over and over for almost 3 hours. So much so that we felt the cough physically on us each time. Now, under any other time, I would have politely confronted this person. But we were clearly in a room with people who did.not.care about Covid precautions. And we were in the very minority. And we were 3 rows from the stage which would have caused an even bigger disturbance to attempt to rectify. I searched for a different area to move to. None. Absolute nightmare. At best he was an oblivious idiot (rude action long before covid came along), at worst accosting us for our masks. I was upset, shocked, disappointed. Thank goodness for our own high-quality masks, my vaccination, and our general robust immune systems. In the end for  y own sanity, I chose to think this guy an idiot rather than an attacker.

Until last night...neighborhood mom-n-pop store (that we purposely choose to use despite higher prices to support our community) accosted DH for wearing his mask. Owner said, "You know those mask are bullsh*t and don't do anything." No comment while checking out spending $150 bucks (so not a candy bar). Again, "You know you don't need a mask, right?" No comment. Other patrons in store (not wearing masks) go deadly silent. Again, "You shouldn't be wearing that in here." No comment. DH showed amazing restraint. He does not mind being "confrontational" when merited. He was just shocked that this guy that we have patronized over the last year to "help" did this. And, folks, this is a liquor store that didn't shut down during the entire pandemic. So he doesn't get a "covid ruined my business" pass. In fact, the liquor stores did very well around here this past year. 

Now I think that there is a good possibility the hacker-man was being intentional.

And I'm left wondering what in the hell did we go to all the trouble with masking in school and dealing with all the work-arounds?

And why did the school district spend $41 million on giving every single kid a laptop and hot spot for what amounted to really just one semester?

And why do you care if I wear a mask, especially when you are not made to?

And if you think it was wrong to REQUIRE masks, then why is it ok to REQUIRE no masks?

And why did the one thing, school, just go rogue against trying to keep the virus to a minimum within the school with multiple covid reports (presumably stemming from community exposure, not school) coming out every week?

Well, this was very long, and somewhat cathartic. Obviously, I can't say any of this aloud in my world. And I'm trying to avoid bringing this feeling of despair down on my kids. Lifting masks in school has really done me in. Thanks for listening y'all.

[Scarlett]

Oh man, I am so sorry.  It makes zero sense to me either!  Sure kids usually don't get that sick, but why risk it when masks help reduce risk significantly.  

Ugh.  I would hate to have school age kids right now.  I am so sorry

[Pen]

I’m sorry you are having these things 

 
 

I think people (or groups like school boards) are feeling uncertain of what to do, and are reactive to changing rules and circumstances. 
 

 And I think people are feeling stressed, and taking it out on others. 
 

 

 

aggie96  1,256

Posted 1 hour ago

•  

Our 115,000+ school district just announced that they are lifting the mask mandate on June 7.

 

 

 

By June 7, won’t school be pretty much done for this year or are you in a year round school situation?

 

(the way things keep changing- at least where I am I would not be surprised if there are multiple changes before next fall if you have a typical 3/4 year school year) 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Pen

[TheReader]

(((((hugs)))))

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all of that; I'd have been very uncomfortable, too. We've all been vaccinated, still masking (I did choose to stop wearing my face shield, which isn't super protective anyway, in the classroom for the sake of my kiddos -- all of the parents are relieved with that choice), and you are so right, it's getting scarcer and scarcer, although I've not encountered any straight-up animosity like that.....yikes. I'm so sorry. 

 Hopefully the Pfizer vaccine gets its 12+ approval ASAP and your kiddos can get the shot sooner than later, but....ugh. It truly stinks to be the only/one of a tiny minority still wearing the mask and all. I get it. 

((((((hugs))))))

 

[aggie96]

My kids had a "mystery" virus that behaved exactly like covid 4 weeks before the US shut down last year. It was a nasty, nasty cold. I almost never take my kids to the doctor, and they all went in for this. Both DH and I, my mom, dad, and 2 brothers also had the pleasure. Ironically, the younger the person, the worse it was in our family. 

I'm not afraid to get it again. We survived. But it's not like I'm "licking lamp posts" either. Know what I mean? I prefer to avoid it if for no other reason (and there are many good life-threatening reasons for others) than there is no time to be sick. And last time it was bad enough for a doctor and took almost 3 weeks to recover fully. Grrrr.

[aggie96]

Yes, it's the straight-up animosity that has me shaken. There is no way I can send my kids to school in a mask here (if covid still wreaking havoc) now that the mandate has lifted.

I didn't even want to vaccinate, but I did. I do not adopt early medical procedures (I'm a biomedical engineer-I've seen behind the curtain). BUT the vaccine is like an invisible mask at this point. I will be so relieved when the kids are vaccinated now.

[Arcadia]

29 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

And why did the school district spend $41 million on giving every single kid a laptop and hot spot for what amounted to really just one semester?

Maybe the money was a spend it or lose it funding from the state to pay for laptops and hotspots. 

[aggie96]

7 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Maybe the money was a spend it or lose it funding from the state to pay for laptops and hotspots. 

My understanding from the board meeting was that it was a combination of a bond, technology fund, and emergency fund that had already been funded. I appreciate that they pivoted to go pseudo-virtual. It was when they dropped "virtual" for several programs that worked well in the fall, I questioned the point. The students are now required to complete all the school work online in the virtual portal while sitting in school. <eye roll> And my DD has 5-6 substitutes every week with recorded lessons from the teacher in the virtual portal. And district didn't have to drop the virtual option for spring. Of course, TEA has dropped funding for virtual for next year already so now they MUST physically go to school next year. Only now they will go with no masks too.

Edited April 20, 2021 by aggie96

[Ali in OR]

And this is what makes some of us very judgmental about other states' governors. Yours is an idiot. Sorry. He's not the only one.

[Innisfree]

40 minutes ago, TheReader said:

Hopefully the Pfizer vaccine gets its 12+ approval ASAP and your kiddos can get the shot sooner than later,

My understanding is that this will be approved very soon.

@aggie96, fingers crossed that your kids will be able to get at least one shot before the mask mandate is lifted in school.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with hostile people. That stinks, and you're right, it makes no sense to lift the mask mandate before all the kids can be vaccinated. Sending lots of hugs.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Innisfree

[Scarlett]

31 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

Yes, it's the straight-up animosity that has me shaken. There is no way I can send my kids to school in a mask here (if covid still wreaking havoc) now that the mandate has lifted.

I didn't even want to vaccinate, but I did. I do not adopt early medical procedures (I'm a biomedical engineer-I've seen behind the curtain). BUT the vaccine is like an invisible mask at this point. I will be so relieved when the kids are vaccinated now.

I don't know how your husband kept from walking out and buying elsewhere.

[regentrude]

9 minutes ago, Ali in OR said:

And this is what makes some of us very judgmental about other states' governors. Yours is an idiot. Sorry. He's not the only one.

Add mine to the club. My state never even had a mask mandate.

[aggie96]

32 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

I don't know how your husband kept from walking out and buying elsewhere.

Funny aside, I asked him the same thing. There are 2 liquor stores across the street from each other. The other one is next door to son's TKD class, which DH was waiting on him and popped in to replenish my whiskey supply. 🙂  So I asked him why he wasn't using the next-door store instead. He said he tried there first, but they were out of whiskey (our brand). Lol! So my next question was "But did you get the whiskey?" A little funny to try to calm DH down. He was very, very angry. We will NEVER use that store again.

ETA: By the time he got home, he wished he hadn't bought it. But he was just stunned. Caught between my whiskey and an a$$hole. 🙂

And that wasn't $150 worth of whiskey alone. It was just the most important.  If I was drinking that much whiskey, I probably wouldn't need a mask because I'd be pickled. LOL!

Edited April 20, 2021 by aggie96

[aggie96]

15 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

It's strange how so much of this is driven by local attitudes. We live in AZ and our governor lifted the mask mandates about a month ago and he just lifted the school mask mandates. However, 95% of the people I see still wear a mask. Several of the local school districts announced that they will continue their mask mandates. 

It's shocking that the store owner attacked his own customer like that. People have gone crazy. 

ETA DD is going to Catholic school next year. The Diocese hasn't said anything yet about mask mandates for the upcoming school year and I'm a little nervous. Religious organizations have been absolutely terrible during this crisis. DD turns 12 in November. It looks like the Pfizer will be approved for 12 and up before the upcoming school year (fingers crossed) but DD won't be eligible until November. 

I can't ask DD to wear a mask in school if no one else is wearing them. She's 11 - that kind of non-conformity is too much to ask of an 11 year old girl. I anticipate that she'll start school in the fall unvaccinated and unmasked and we'll have to hope for the best. DH got his second shot Saturday and I get my second shot tomorrow (yeah!) so we should be good and we have no problems at all about getting any necessary booster. 

This is exactly the case for 11yo too. Turns 12 in October. So no mask, no vaccination when school starts. Fortunately, my 13yo is homeschooled. She'll still be vaccinated ASAP though. 

ETA: And because he turns 12 at the start of the school year, most of his classmates will be not vaccinated or wearing masks. But the second he can get his, we will. Invisible mask.

Edited April 20, 2021 by aggie96

[kokotg]

19 minutes ago, Ordinary Shoes said:

It's strange how so much of this is driven by local attitudes. We live in AZ and our governor lifted the mask mandates about a month ago and he just lifted the school mask mandates. However, 95% of the people I see still wear a mask. Several of the local school districts announced that they will continue their mask mandates. 

 

Yes. I'm in Georgia; we've never had a statewide mask mandate, but the schools in my county require masks and strictly enforce it, and 90+% of the people in stores near me are masked. I wonder if places where there's a lot of resistance to mask mandates would have been better off never having them at all than having them but lifting them too early. ETA: although I guess your experience suggests it wouldn't have made a difference; i.e. people aren't ripping off the masks because the mandate's gone.

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by kokotg

[Scarlett]

11 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

Funny aside, I asked him the same thing. There are 2 liquor stores across the street from each other. The other one is next door to son's TKD class, which DH was waiting on him and popped in to replenish my whiskey supply. 🙂  So I asked him why he wasn't using the next-door store instead. He said he tried there first, but they were out of whiskey (our brand). Lol! So my next question was "But did you get the whiskey?" A little funny to try to calm DH down. He was very, very angry. We will NEVER use that store again.

ETA: By the time he got home, he wished he hadn't bought it. But he was just stunned. Caught between my whiskey and an a$$hole. 🙂

And that wasn't $150 worth of whiskey alone. It was just the most important.  If I was drinking that much whiskey, I probably wouldn't need a mask because I'd be pickled. LOL!

I totally get that. I am stunned on his behalf! 

And hey, some whiskey is VERY expensive!  LOL

[Spy Car]

I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that we have a considerable portion of our population that embraces the idea of a "cull."

Weed out the weak, the sick, the old, and the "drags on society."

It is an ugly conclusion, to be sure, but hard to read it any other way.

Bill

[aggie96]

Agreed. And I really loved my state, my people, the general Texas ethos. And now everything is discombobulated.

ETA: It's like someone let the crazy, mean uncle have the microphone. Before, everyone just tolerated him in the corner lazy-boy until he got drunk and passed out.

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by aggie96

[bibiche]

6 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that we have a considerable portion of our population that embraces the idea of a "cull."

Weed out the weak, the sick, the old, and the "drags on society."

It is an ugly conclusion, to be sure, but hard to read it any other way.

Bill

If they just weeded out themselves I’d be fine with it. And our national IQ would likely rise. But they’re trying to take us all down. 

[rebcoola]

48 minutes ago, aggie96 said:

 🙂 

🙂

And that wasn't $150 worth of whiskey alone. It was just the most important.  If I was drinking that much whiskey, I probably wouldn't need a mask because I'd be pickled. LOL!

Or you have really good taste in Whiskey!!

[Laurie]

A guy on the radio said, "Tyranny is always capricious."  

I'm still seething about the new advice to end the "hygiene theater".   THEATER?!  That's what they're calling it now??? I remember the shortages and buying limits on things like antibacterial wipes, bleach, etc.  and then all of a sudden all these new brands I'd never seen before showed up.  When I looked at the labels...."Made in China".   I was thankful that I had a good stockpile at home already because I really didn't want to buy products that came from the place where the pandemic originated.  

I'm going to continue on with the "theater" and the "maskerade" anyway since I was a germaphobe before it was popular.   

[regentrude]

7 minutes ago, Laurie said:

A guy on the radio said, "Tyranny is always capricious."  

I'm still seething about the new advice to end the "hygiene theater".   THEATER?!  That's what they're calling it now??? I remember the shortages and buying limits on things like antibacterial wipes, bleach, etc.  and then all of a sudden all these new brands I'd never seen before showed up.  When I looked at the labels...."Made in China".   I was thankful that I had a good stockpile at home already because I really didn't want to buy products that came from the place where the pandemic originated.  

But if the scientific understanding is now, after studying this for a year, that surface transmission plays a miniscule role compared to droplets, focusing on sanitizing surfaces while not protecting against droplets through masks and distancing is nothing but "theater".

We didn't know this a year ago, so the focus on surfaces made sense. But now the major effort should be on the major causes of transmission. Nmaking a selling point of disinfecting the surfaces at the chiropractors office is misguided aka theater when they don't require staff and patients to mask.

[HeartString]

13 minutes ago, Laurie said:

A guy on the radio said, "Tyranny is always capricious."  

I'm still seething about the new advice to end the "hygiene theater".   THEATER?!  That's what they're calling it now??? I remember the shortages and buying limits on things like antibacterial wipes, bleach, etc.  and then all of a sudden all these new brands I'd never seen before showed up.  When I looked at the labels...."Made in China".   I was thankful that I had a good stockpile at home already because I really didn't want to buy products that came from the place where the pandemic originated.  

I'm going to continue on with the "theater" and the "maskerade" anyway since I was a germaphobe before it was popular.   

I’m not a germaphobe at all, I’m more in the “it’s good for your immune system” camp and even I have no idea why *cleaning* is a bad thing now.   I love all the extra cleaning at the stores.  Yes, please wash the grocery carts and wipe the card reader and belt.  I cleaned all the time when I was a cashier.  It’s not “theater”, people are gross!  I wish they’d all keep up the cleaning, if not for COVID, for e.coli and flu and pink eye.

[regentrude]

1 minute ago, HeartString said:

I’m not a germaphobe at all, I’m more in the “it’s good for your immune system” camp and even I have no idea why *cleaning* is a bad thing now.   I love all the extra cleaning at the stores.  Yes, please wash the grocery carts and wipe the card reader and belt.  I cleaned all the time when I was a cashier.  It’s not “theater”, people are gross!  I wish they’d all keep up the cleaning, if not for COVID, for e.coli and flu and pink eye.

They don't say cleaning is bad. 

They say cleaning surfaces while at the same time  not insisting on masks, distance, and ventilation is often just performance ( " hey, look at us how we care about covid") . 

[HeartString]

7 minutes ago, regentrude said:

They don't say cleaning is bad. 

They say cleaning surfaces while at the same time  not insisting on masks, distance, and ventilation is often just performance ( " hey, look at us how we care about covid") . 

That is true and I agree with it. I’ve been complaining about the dumb questionnaires and temp checks for a year now.

I think ventilation is both under-rated and the thing least likely to be change.  Walmart is not upgrading its ventilation system no matter how great it would be.   I’d love to see little air purifiers at every table at every restaurant but I’m not holding my breath.  It would help so many things if we could get cleaner air into places.  

 I just want them to keep up some of the extra cleaning forever.  

Edited April 20, 2021 by HeartString

[WildflowerMom]

2 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that we have a considerable portion of our population that embraces the idea of a "cull."

Weed out the weak, the sick, the old, and the "drags on society."

It is an ugly conclusion, to be sure, but hard to read it any other way.

Bill

I agree with you.    You can hear it when someone passes from covid and the reaction is, "well, he did have xyz."  Or when you suggest universal healthcare and someone says they don't want to pay for people's "bad habits."   It reminds me of Dwight Schrute telling Jim during Phyllis' wedding that it was time for another plague (because the church was crowded).    I laugh at that scene, but now I don't doubt that some people have actually felt that way irl.  

[Dmmetler]

I am really, really hoping that vaccination is available for kids before school starts next fall. My 16 yr old was able to get the second Pfizer shot yesterday, and while the side effects last night and today are pretty miserable, the peace of mind is awesome. 

 

One thing I love about my workplace is that we set our COVID protocols based on what was recommended for child care last summer. So, we still have the extra cleaning, temp checks, masks, air purifiers, larger rooms with smaller student numbers allowed, etc-and that hasn't changed all year. The child care/summer camp director is lobbying hard to not change until kids can be vaccinated, because right now our students are used to it. The dancers are dancing in masks, the pianists playing in masks, the pom squad practicing in masks, and the preschoolers wearing masks pretty comfortably all day except for lunch, which they do outside if the  weather is nice or spread out in the gym with the doors flung open if it's not. 

2 hours ago, kokotg said:

Yes. I'm in Georgia; we've never had a statewide mask mandate, but the schools in my county require masks and strictly enforce it, and 90+% of the people in stores near me are masked. I wonder if places where there's a lot of resistance to mask mandates would have been better off never having them at all than having them but lifting them too early. ETA: although I guess your experience suggests it wouldn't have made a difference; i.e. people aren't ripping off the masks because the mandate's gone.

 

I'm in a similar state, where the county has a mask mandate, but the state doesn't-and truthfully, I think having the local only mandate, based on local numbers makes sense. They recently relaxed gathering limits for summer, but with the statement that this is BECAUSE we're leaving the mask limit in place. So yes, you can have your high school graduation with people spaced out and masks, even if it is indoors, but it's BECAUSE we are leaving the masks and social distancing in place.  

 

My senior has picked a school for next year in GA, but at a campus which stayed online through all of first semester, mostly online through second semester, and in a community where I literally saw NO ONE without a mask in the week we were there-not kids playing in their front yard, not joggers, not bike riders. It was amazing how freeing it felt for everyone to be on the same page. 

[Penelope]

1 hour ago, HeartString said:

I’m not a germaphobe at all, I’m more in the “it’s good for your immune system” camp and even I have no idea why *cleaning* is a bad thing now.   I love all the extra cleaning at the stores.  Yes, please wash the grocery carts and wipe the card reader and belt.  I cleaned all the time when I was a cashier.  It’s not “theater”, people are gross!  I wish they’d all keep up the cleaning, if not for COVID, for e.coli and flu and pink eye.

I don’t think cleaning is bad, but the waste generated by all the wipes isn’t great, and the overuse of antibacterial products leads to bacterial resistance. So unless they are going to clean with plain soap and water, some of the extra cleaning being done now is probably not a net benefit. People keeping up the hand-washing habit should have more of an effect than cleaning surfaces.

[Penelope]

I think it makes sense to keep masking in schools through the end of the year, then wait until fall to decide what the policy will be for the fall. If cases are low, then consider masks off. If they are not, keep them.

I think there is a case to be made for doing that at least for elementary schools, as there are examples from other countries that did well despite never requiring masks in primary schools.  And I think there will be more examples of pre-elementary that never required masks, as the WHO doesn’t recommend them for under age 5. 
 

 

[Pam in CT]

re unrelenting spousal focus on the Most Important Thing

3 hours ago, aggie96 said:

Funny aside, I asked him the same thing. There are 2 liquor stores across the street from each other. The other one is next door to son's TKD class, which DH was waiting on him and popped in to replenish my whiskey supply. 🙂  So I asked him why he wasn't using the next-door store instead. He said he tried there first, but they were out of whiskey (our brand). Lol! So my next question was "But did you get the whiskey?" A little funny to try to calm DH down. He was very, very angry. We will NEVER use that store again.

ETA: By the time he got home, he wished he hadn't bought it. But he was just stunned. Caught between my whiskey and an a$$hole. 🙂

And that wasn't $150 worth of whiskey alone. It was just the most important.  If I was drinking that much whiskey, I probably wouldn't need a mask because I'd be pickled. LOL!

OK, you win the day with this.

 

 

(And give your husband some love for his unswerving focus on your needs, LOL)

 

 

(and condolences re your sorry@ss governor... y'all deserve better)

[ktgrok]

4 hours ago, regentrude said:

Add mine to the club. My state never even had a mask mandate.

Same, although thankfully my county does. Too bad the governor made it illegal to enforce it. 

[regentrude]

5 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Same, although thankfully my county does. Too bad the governor made it illegal to enforce 

 My city had one for a while, which caused all progressive city council members to lose their seats to vocal antimaskers in this month's election. 

[*****]

I haven't read all replies, but yeah, this whole covid thing is such a mystery.  Like, if Florida isn't a mask state, then why are their numbers so low?  I have a relative living there, masking up, still got the virus...but sometime after that enjoyed the beach, museums and other outings and didn't get sick again.  (A least in the photos, I didn't see them masked up.) I would not have felt comfortable doing those outings, but, hey, if people are not getting sick? idk.  

I live on the border of 2 very different states, so I see an interesting mix at the different schools.  2 nearby private schools: in school since September, no mask wearing, no distancing, just a free for all, and their numbers have remained very low to nothing (initial high numbers due to an outbreak at 1 of the churches).  It is weird going in stores in that state, because you feel they are giving you dirty looks if you are wearing a mask.   But public schools  in that same state have  been responsible in heavy cleaning, following all the rules, etc. have had very low sicknesses of any kind, which I think has been great.  

Our numbers in our small area are very low, so I am seeing them dropping their mask mandates also, so time will tell. 

Aggie96, I am sorry your husband had to deal with that, people don't understand customer appreciation anymore, especially not to realize you have helped them to stay afloat this past year. 

[ktgrok]

Florida's major cities and most populous counties have mask mandates. The state does not. 

Also, do not trust our numbers. At all. They have been stretched, manipulated, etc. 

[TheReader]

12 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Florida's major cities and most populous counties have mask mandates. The state does not. 

Also, do not trust our numbers. At all. They have been stretched, manipulated, etc. 

this is a good point (counties vs state) and one reason all of those "why low numbers in mask mandate states???" articles, etc., are so misleading. thanks for pointing it out here. 

[ktgrok]

33 minutes ago, TheReader said:

this is a good point (counties vs state) and one reason all of those "why low numbers in mask mandate states???" articles, etc., are so misleading. thanks for pointing it out here. 

Yeah, Broward, Miami Dade, Palm Beach, and Orange have all had mask mandates. I think the county St. Pete/Tampa are in as well. 

Also, the state official numbers are...different...than how most places calculate. They have some complicated method that counts some people twice, but not others, etc etc. So today on the state dashboard our positivity is around 6%, but if you go to an outside source like John's Hopkins, etc it is 10%. That has been consistently true - there is always a discrepancy with the state dashboard showing lower positivity rates. 

[prairiewindmomma]

I sadly am feeling this.

Our schools just started back up.  There had been discussion about how they would step down to hybrid and then remote learning if case counts became too high.  Our county just moved tiers back up to the tier just before they shut down restaurants to takeout only (we're back to 25% capacity), but the school district has said that they are staying in hybrid.

Do I think that's the right decision? Maybe.  Is it completely different than what they said a month ago? Yes.

People are acting like they are losing their minds here over masking and social distancing again......and our cases are now double what they were a month ago because people aren't obeying the guidelines.

 

[happybeachbum]

9 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Oh man, I am so sorry.  It makes zero sense to me either!  Sure kids usually don't get that sick, but why risk it when masks help reduce risk significantly.  

Ugh.  I would hate to have school age kids right now.  I am so sorry

They keep forgetting that kids can carry it home I guess.  LHM