No more masks in classrooms - hurray!

[TeddingtonTrashbag]

Hurray!
I am a secondary teacher and just hope it really happens.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/05/06/exclusive-end-masks-classroom-boris-johnson-defies-unions/

@RoseAndRose

Because "Boris defies Unions" plays out better amongst the general public than "Boris defies science... again."

Nicely put!

Yup.

We've had no cases in school since we came back. The local infection control team have been stood down.
Giving up on masks now, especially whilst we still have year 11 and 13 doing assessments, seems unwise.

My children are very relieved at the news. They had covid at Xmas and it wasn't even as bad as a cold.

They are wearing masks in school and they are covered in spots now and still caught a cold this week - probably because they aren't getting fresh air to breathe all day.

@Sidesaladofchips

Wearing a mask is such a simple action to help prevent the spread. It is astounding that some people can't grasp that.

If they worked, we’d see actual results by now. They are useless and may actually be harmful because people are more relaxed about socially distancing with them on

Thank you Boris

Dd and Ds have been wearing them all the time since last September and Dd still caught covid.

They are a liability and nonsense, let's hope our head follows the rules this time

@CovidHalloween

Remind me again- what did they do in Chile? Oh yeah, they had a decent % of the population vaccinated but relaxed the rules far too quickly ending up in a mess even though their vaccination program was doing brilliantly. Add Indian variant to the mix here and it’s a perfect cocktail. This is getting better by the minute.

Yeah it’s because they used Sinovax which is not very effective. Turns out the Chinese virus can’t be prevented with the Chinese vaccine 🤷‍♀️

I am so, so, so sick of wearing a mask properly when most of the kids don't bother. They're wearing me down. There are only so many times you can say:"put your mask on" without losing the will to live.

I'd also like to start wearing lipstick again. And glasses occasionally instead of contacts.

If the children are coming home anxious about a virus that most don’t even know they have then likely it’s the parents projecting their fear
This

What about those children who were shielding?

Gvmt say it's now okay for them to be back at school, but three weeks in we're going to get rid of this safety measure despite a p lateau in cases?l

Since when is it just a case of "fuck the vulnerable"?

I think sometimes you have to look at who is on which side of an argument.

Pro-masks: almost every scientist, teaching unions, doctors, nurses...

Anti-masks: Gavin Williamson, the Tory party

It is clear the government is taking a risk and not following the science.

@EnjoyingTheArmoire

What about those children who were shielding?

Gvmt say it's now okay for them to be back at school, but three weeks in we're going to get rid of this safety measure despite a p lateau in cases?l

Since when is it just a case of "fuck the vulnerable"?

Medically vulnerable children have been rather left behind in any of this tbh.

If the children are coming home anxious about a virus that most don’t even know they have then likely it’s the parents projecting their fear

My teenage children aren't unusually anxious, but they read/watch the news and are aware that their younger brother has been shielding for most of the year...they'd have to have their heads in a hole not to realise something is up!!

If the teachers are double vaccinated they themselves shouldn't need to wear one surely.

Weren’t schools the cause of the 2nd and 3rd lockdowns though? I just think it’s too early to stop being vigilant

Pleased to see masks on way out. Hopefully this will be the case in public transport soon too

@ZammoUK

If the teachers are double vaccinated they themselves shouldn't need to wear one surely.

‘If’ being the key word there. I’m a teacher, 43, and my first vaccine is next week. Fantastic.

The sooner they are not compulsory the better.

They need to be voluntary in all schools and that to be made clear by the state - that no child can be refused access to the lesson in the classroom where the child chooses not to wear a mask. Then shops and trains.

I'm over 50, have a heart condition and am in CV group. I'll get my 2nd vaccine next month. Meanwhile it seems my only defence is going to be taken away.
Not sure what will be worse for the kids, wearing a mask for a few more months or knowing they've made me ill. We have had several cases this term, spreading due to parties outside school.

@murbblurb

Because we have a generation of disobedient brats who don't do as they are told. New mask or clean mask at least once a day (hopefully more), on properly, don't fiddle with it. I see them on the bus all in chinstrap mode. Same as their fuckwit parents.

You are the only fuckwit.

I find it very sad to see children coming out of school with masks on. And even sadder to read comments from parents who have clearly lost their minds over an illness that doesn’t even harm the vast majority of people who catch it.

@mumsneedwine

I'm over 50, have a heart condition and am in CV group. I'll get my 2nd vaccine next month. Meanwhile it seems my only defence is going to be taken away. Not sure what will be worse for the kids, wearing a mask for a few more months or knowing they've made me ill. We have had several cases this term, spreading due to parties outside school.

Get signed off with anxiety for a month or so until youre fully vaccinated.

@picturesandpickles

I think sometimes you have to look at who is on which side of an argument.

Pro-masks: almost every scientist, teaching unions, doctors, nurses...

Anti-masks: Gavin Williamson, the Tory party

It is clear the government is taking a risk and not following the science.

If it’s safe to go no masks then it should be no masks everywhere. If they are still needed on public transport, shops etc then they are most certainly needed in school where contact is prolonged and many staff not vaccinated.

Also the “kids aren’t even affected by covid” statements are just weird. Ds was really impacted for over a year with long covid symptoms - painful and exhausting. Over a year. His friend caught covid last year, and has since been diagnosed with asthma, despite never having had any breathing problems before.

Yes thankfully these kinds of illnesses are rare, but lots of posters seem happy to take the gamble for their kids, their kids’ classmates, their kids’ friends.

The last few data presentations in Indie Sage showed that before the Easter hols the rates of covid infection went up much faster in primary (no masks) than secondary schools - in Sept-December it was the other way around. The national data suggests that overall masks are making a difference in preventing infection in secondary schools.

I have no doubt some kids don't wear them properly, but it doesn't require every kid to wear one (of course children with SEN who can't wear them should be exempt for example) or wear one properly to get a massive effect on reduction of transmission. Even if only 50% of people in a class wear them, it makes a big difference.

Getting rid of them altogether in secondary schools is asking for trouble - in the form of a vaccine resistant variant, probably.