Violet Affleck and mask mandates

Because HEPA filters and ventilation systems in every classroom in the country would cost a fortune, and the money is far better spent elsewhere.

That is unsurprising given we know that children whose mothers had Covid during pregnancy are more likely to have a developmental delay at 2yo than those who weren’t exposed to covid in utero. I think there were more problems with speech and language too.

Those test scores might not be salvageable while we’re still pretending Covid is a respiratory virus not a multi systemic one.

Someone clearly struggles with the difference between fact and opinion.

I thought the stages were

epidemic (localised)
pandemic (global)
endemic (global but not spiking, just circulating)

Like the viruses of previous pandemics might still be kicking around but they’re weakened and don’t cause havoc any more.

This is just what I remember from the news during early pandemic time, hope iirc.

You keep asking me this and I’ve told you. You can admit you’re anti mask and selfish. It’s okay.

How do you expect this to be enforced? There's a distinction between having a mask mandate and a population who would actually adhere to it.

Adherence was breaking down the last time there were mask mandates in the UK, and private businesses making it clear they weren't going to do the state's work in enforcing it, so it's never immediately obvious what people think has changed to make it actually feasible.

Well as I’m now on antibiotics because of selfish people who insist on going out while poorly, I am firmly in the camp of thinking masks should be mandated.

It’s pure selfishness.

Clear masks weren't available earlier on, there are a few different types available now. It's perfectly possible to make it work especially when the only place where mask mandates are even being suggested are in hospitals where hospital acquired infections are a huge problem, for everyone but in particular for people who are especially medically vulnerable and are at the moment unable to access healthcare safely. I know people who are having cancer treatment and dialysis and healthcare workers won't even wear masks when they are getting their treatment, and some even come in actively sick, which is disgraceful imo.

I'm sure she isn't - I seem to remember they also listened t o Greta Thunberg. It just seems a bit performative and tick boxing to me. When they could listen to actual scientists rather than emotional, rather un evidence based appeals. But maybe that's what they want? However what's the point - they have shown they're "listening" to a Gen Z spokesperson. But they're not going to take a blind bit of notice of her are they? So ultimately they have wasted her time to make them look good.

How many people did you see wearing clear masks during the time they were mandated? Not many. My DP would tell people that they needed to take masks off for lipreading but they would refuse.

We did something about it in the short term, and since then we've stopped, so we are now doing precisely zero to prevent the long-term consequences of repeated covid infections, in children or in anyone else. Zero.

We've put all our eggs in the basket of thinking kids having lots of covid infections won't have any long-term consequences. What if we're wrong? The research into the cognitive effects alone should be causing concern.

Ventilation in summer and HEPA filters in winter in classrooms could have been being worked on for the last five years and we'd now be in a much better position, even if progress was slow because of funds and even if the results weren't perfect. If clean air is good enough for the Houses of Parliament, why not for children?

19% of Yale students come from the richest 1% of americans

www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/yale-university

Does the UN have health anxiety? From August 2020:

”We have increased the rating of the filters in the HQ campus systems. All HQ campus systems are now installed with MERV 10 pre-filters and MERV 14 main filters. The filters of the HVAC systems of the leased annex have also been upgraded to the maximum MERV ratings that each system is capable of handling. We have taken the approach of "flushing" 100% of outside air to occupied spaces for 30-minute periods multiple times a day. The run times for each unit are staggered so as not to cause spikes in overall energy demand.”

Source: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/highlight/2020-08-12.html

Yes but I don't think they announce the end officially.

OK, WHO say we are. AliceMaforethought says we are not. Got it.

When the generation who are now children grow up, they're not necessarily all going to feel particularly warmly towards the generation who decided that covid was too depressing, boring and expensive to do anything about ...

I don't know if it passed you by, @Setenv, but regardless of individual views rather a lot was "done about it", even at the expense of the long term consequences

What was really disgusting was how the easiest targets were the subject of shaming. There were a lot of posts on here, twitter etc from people pleased with themselves because they'd given some form of tut or dirty look to an unmasked person. There's no way they were doing it to anyone who they were scared was going to go on the offensive back.

As someone who believes in freedom and liberty, Violet Affleck can wear whatever she wants as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t agree with her however that masks should be mandated, as that would not be a proportionate measure.

I am also a bit perplexed as to how a 19 year old undergraduate student has been given a platform to spout this opinion at the United Nations.

My NHS building currently doesn't have working heating - I'd prioritise that right now rather than a fancy air filter.

As for mask mandates and the "everyone can wear them... woo anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers" shite. 2020 was that way <---

I still cannot wear a mask for more than about 30 minutes and I cannot function effectively while wearing one. That's despite trying to the point of nearly passing out in Tesco, nearly clawing the skin off my face trying to get through a meeting in school and having to push that far into time tolerating one so I could actually keep some semblance of my career. I'm autistic, it's a huge huge huge sensory trigger for me and I can't even tolerate a corner of the duvet coming up near my mouth overnight. I can push through and last about 30 minutes - but I'll be in fight or flight mode most of the day and it'll burn me out for a good few days if I have to do it.

I almost broke myself trying to appease the pro-mask brigade on here. I pushed and pushed because they insisted I just wasn't trying hard enough, then I avoided going out because even if I was unable to wear them - there was so much public hate out there I was too scared to... then I resorted to wearing a lanyard - I'm incredibly chilled out about being autistic - but having to wear a lanyard basically declaring that so I could buy spuds in Tesco... and the assumptions I was a UKIP loving, Trump shagging Gammon... yeah...

OFFS we aren't still in a pandemic!

When they stated that, they said we are still in a pandemic though.

Well the characteristic of a pandemic is that it is defined globally, as opposed to locally. So it doesn't make sense for a country to use its own definition.

The WHO confirmed that we are no longer in a state of emergency more than two years ago. I'm not sure announcing the official end of a pandemic is something they do.

Why? According to who? There may be differences between countries (I’m in the U.K. and UKHSA say we are still in a pandemic).

You're right, and to be clear I dislike Violet's stance on this. I'd still take her over the likes of the Kardashians or Brooklyn Beckham or even Kaia Gerber.

Still no.