Secondary School - First maskless day!

[palacegirl77]

Daughter not long since home from her face day without a face mask. She said it was so strange - she felt like she was missing something all day and that she found it hard to put up her hand and answer questions as she felt weird that people could see her face. Im pleased her school have gone with guidance, the lack of confidence to communicate is concerning. She said none of the teachers wore them at any point (but Im assuming thats their choice, not guidance as the school said if anyone wanted to wear them they could). Going to be another change for them to deal with but lets hope its a change for the better.

You are tieing yourself up in in knots with your arguments! You are the one saying that masks should be gone from schools yet then say teachers can wear them just as the staff in pubs do! Make your bloody mind up.

I'm with you OP, it's wonderful! They've ditched the masks at DD's school (in line with government guidance) and DD said she was so much more engaged in class today because of it. I thought maybe a few would continue to wear the masks as they are entitled to should they wish but apparently not.

Again though there is evidence to suggest children don't transmit it as easily as adults

Secondary kids were the most infected subset of the population before Christmas, were far more likely to be the first case in a household and more likely to transmit to a family member than an adult. Allowing covid to swill freely in secondary schools was a really bad decision.

@mrshoho

You are tieing yourself up in in knots with your arguments! You are the one saying that masks should be gone from schools yet then say teachers can wear them just as the staff in pubs do! Make your bloody mind up.

Because I've never said I don't agree with teachers wearing them? If a teacher wants to (or a student) they should! I have no issue with that. I am pleased it has been mandated that they are not needed but also reassuring that local DPH teams can implement them if they are concerned about numbers. Not entirely sure why that is so strange? It's almost as if people really want to see their kids wearing masks?

Teachers are allowed to wear masks if they need to be within 2m aren't they? Like in the pub? Again though there is evidence to suggest children don't transmit it as easily as adults so I guess that has to be taken into account.

The latest evidence showed kids 12-17 were 7 times more likely to be index case in a household than anyone else.

It was proven they were transmitting it at an alarming rate.

@noblegiraffe

Again though there is evidence to suggest children don't transmit it as easily as adults

Secondary kids were the most infected subset of the population before Christmas, were far more likely to be the first case in a household and more likely to transmit to a family member than an adult. Allowing covid to swill freely in secondary schools was a really bad decision.

They're going to be, because they were together whilst any right minded vulnerable adult was keeping away! They are categorically not more likely to pass it on than adults. www.google.com/amp/s/api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/science/article/we-now-know-how-much-children-spread-coronavirus

@palacegirl77
Check these two links:
Worrying info that the young now are getting poorly with the Indian covid variant.
twitter.com/amymclellan2/status/1394324714944933888?s=21

You mention younger people aren’t dying or getting very ill:

Point is that A small proportion of a large number of people getting ill, can still be a large number of people.
This thread on Twitter explains why:
twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1394226773269823488?s=21

@itsgettingwierd

Teachers are allowed to wear masks if they need to be within 2m aren't they? Like in the pub? Again though there is evidence to suggest children don't transmit it as easily as adults so I guess that has to be taken into account.

The latest evidence showed kids 12-17 were 7 times more likely to be index case in a household than anyone else.

It was proven they were transmitting it at an alarming rate.

The rest of society was still keeping apart though wasn't it - so of course they would be. Similar to now probably, it will be the unvaccinated catching it. Still less likely for a child to pass on than an adult. www.google.com/amp/s/api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/science/article/we-now-know-how-much-children-spread-coronavirus

[quote VaccineSticker]@palacegirl77
Check these two links:
Worrying info that the young now are getting poorly with the Indian covid variant.
twitter.com/amymclellan2/status/1394324714944933888?s=21

You mention younger people aren’t dying or getting very ill:

Point is that A small proportion of a large number of people getting ill, can still be a large number of people.
This thread on Twitter explains why:
twitter.com/chrischirp/status/1394226773269823488?s=21[/quote]
Wow. Scaremongering or what. Did you actually read the report?? What did he say about young people...well here you go;

“None of the children who have contracted the virus are seriously ill and a few have mild symptoms, he added.”

Teachers are allowed to wear masks if they need to be within 2m aren't they?

Nope. primary teachers have NEVER been allowed to wear them in the classroom, even if in close personal contact with over 30 children daily.

They're going to be, because they were together whilst any right minded vulnerable adult was keeping away!

It was comparing a child transmitting it to a family member with an adult transmitting it to a family member. Within a household.

It's almost as if people really want to see their kids wearing masks?

At the moment, that's exactly what I want to see. We are not out of the woods yet, and we need to be cautious. I want the staff, pupils and their families to be safe. I want schools to stay open if at all possible. If wearing masks helps to minimise the risk, then absolutely, I want to see the kids wearing masks. It isn't a big deal and most kids don't make a fuss.

Saying that the teacher can wear a mask if they choose is missing the point. Masks protect others, not the wearer. It is safer for the teacher - and for the other kids and their family members - if all of the kids wear them. I really don't understand the people who are so resistant to such a small change in order to keep everyone safe.

@cantkeepawayforever

Teachers are allowed to wear masks if they need to be within 2m aren't they?

Nope. primary teachers have NEVER been allowed to wear them in the classroom, even if in close personal contact with over 30 children daily.

Sorry I was talking about secondary (where masks have recently been removed).

“None of the children who have contracted the virus are seriously ill and a few have mild symptoms, he added.”
This is where do many of the hard-of-thiinking are so spectacularly missing the point.
‘cases’ are a red herring seized on to try to scare the easily scared. Symptoms (if even present) are minimal in the sector of the population currently unvaccinated.

@palacegirl77
I’m not scaremongering, you cherry pick the info to suit your wishful thinking.
We are in a pandemic, it’s awful and it’s a global disaster. Stop brushing it off like it’s some sort of snivles.
Article also said :
“So it is an area of concern for us, and the way we manage the situation must (be to) constantly keep abreast of such developments and pre-empt them where possible.”

Singapore are learning about this new variant, the best thing is to be cautious and be proactive and a step ahead of disaster in case of strikes.
But we as a nation, on the other hand, are reactive in our approach. Just Look at deaths and hospitalisation rate.

No masks for students in classrooms here but they wore them in corridors etc. I actually don’t think the mask wearing made much difference- for example during lunch the students ate in the same room that they had their lesson in but took their masks off. So, if anyone had COVID then that 45 min lunch break was enough to spread it, same as the morning break in the other class they had.

In addition on the playground they didn’t have to wear them and that’s when they face each other and talk more excitedly. In a classroom they face forward and my lessons are not usually fun anymore because I’m not allowed to do fun. It’s death by PPT - no group work, no paired work, no practical work.

It’s not really that much better than home learning especially as I can’t understand what the kids are saying. I’m forever asking them to repeat themselves and they just got fed up, some stopped communicating.

I don’t know really for the mental health of children there needs to be some normality

Let's just hope that those who are on the side of Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson are right that it is fine to now let covid swill around the unvaccinated population, while most of the vaccinated population aren't fully vaccinated and the Indian variant has a question mark over it.

They do have such a great track record of excellent decisions, particularly regarding schools.

@noblegiraffe 😆😆😆yeah excellent track record indeed.

Singapore are learning about this new variant, the best thing is to be cautious and be proactive and a step ahead of disaster in case of strikes. But we as a nation, on the other hand, are reactive in our approach. Just Look at deaths and hospitalisation rate.

Singapore deaths per million population: 5. UK deaths per million population: 1872.

@paralysedbyinertia I think we are arguing on the same side here.

[quote VaccineSticker]@paralysedbyinertia I think we are arguing on the same side here.[/quote]
Yes, sorry, I wasn't meaning to suggest otherwise. I was just underlining your point, really.

@paralysedbyinertia

Singapore are learning about this new variant, the best thing is to be cautious and be proactive and a step ahead of disaster in case of strikes. But we as a nation, on the other hand, are reactive in our approach. Just Look at deaths and hospitalisation rate.

Singapore deaths per million population: 5. UK deaths per million population: 1872.

So in terms of herd immunity (not that I'm saying that was or is the way to go) we are far more likely to be there than Singapore. It's already proven that vaccines (and having previously had covid) will protect against illness from new variant, so this is not really comparable.

@Shadowboy

No masks for students in classrooms here but they wore them in corridors etc. I actually don’t think the mask wearing made much difference- for example during lunch the students ate in the same room that they had their lesson in but took their masks off. So, if anyone had COVID then that 45 min lunch break was enough to spread it, same as the morning break in the other class they had.

In addition on the playground they didn’t have to wear them and that’s when they face each other and talk more excitedly. In a classroom they face forward and my lessons are not usually fun anymore because I’m not allowed to do fun. It’s death by PPT - no group work, no paired work, no practical work.

It’s not really that much better than home learning especially as I can’t understand what the kids are saying. I’m forever asking them to repeat themselves and they just got fed up, some stopped communicating.

I don’t know really for the mental health of children there needs to be some normality

Thank you so much for this post. It's hard as a parent to put forward concerns about mask use (and I constantly get accused of being anti-mask - although I wear mine and my daughter has worn hers with no fuss). My concerns have always been that they're not used properly, changed regularly and disposed of correctly - the logic of wearing them at all when, as you've put here, they're still able to mingle without them seems inefficient. If they were worn properly and were medical grade I'd be far more supportive of them.

It's very interesting what you say about the stopping of communicating in class. As I said at the start this also was one of my main concerns for my 12 daughter.

The rest of society was still keeping apart though wasn't it - so of course they would be. Similar to now probably, it will be the unvaccinated catching it. Still less likely for a child to pass on than an adult.

But these children were taking it home. It didn't matter what the adults were doing. And the fact the adults were keeping away and it was still transmitting at an exponential rate is even more concerning.

If it's the school kids bringing it home why not just make it that little bit safer and have the same requirements for masks as they need in other public spaces - including on the transport in the way to school.

If they don't need masks in corridors why do they need them in school buses?

Why are the rules different in different places - the virus doesn't transmit differently dependent on where you are. It transmits differently dependent in the environment - and crowded places are known to increase transmission.

@noblegiraffe

Let's just hope that those who are on the side of Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson are right that it is fine to now let covid swill around the unvaccinated population, while most of the vaccinated population aren't fully vaccinated and the Indian variant has a question mark over it.

They do have such a great track record of excellent decisions, particularly regarding schools.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

An excellent track record of getting it monumentally wrong.

Let's just hope this time they are right