What’s the point of masks at school anymore?!?

[VaccineSticker]

Before anyone shoots me down, I have worn an ffp2 mask right from the beginning and never stopped, and wont be stopping, but it’s obvious now that the plan is that there’s no plan and they are letting the virus spread, so why are they asking kids to mask up?
Asking kids to mask up is like trying to build a sea defence wall to protect ourselves from a tsunami. 🤣
The horse has bolted.
Night clubs are open, packed pubs and restaurants are open, people going into poorly ventilated offices and the list goes on, all maskless especially after all the NYE parties.
But oh no, kids now need to be masked?
Do they think we are stupid?
Do they want us to believe that they are doing something to fight omicron?
Why don’t just be honest and say we are going to let it rip?
The plan is to take it on the chin people. 🙄

I think the teaching unions want mask wearing with no real understanding of what else is going on. Teaching unions have always been over cautious ( bit like Nicola Sturgeon). Teachers are a bit special, much like GPs. No logic required.

To slow down the spread and reduce viral load

Since when do they listen to the teaching unions? 🤦‍♀️

Night clubs restaurants etc are for adults who have mainly been vaccinated.

The vast majority of children haven’t been.

If you don’t want them to wear masks, feel free to step in when the teachers are dropping like flies.

You are completely right op. They have let it rip through the land over xmas & new year. But let's blame it on the kids 🙈🙈🙈

@BluebellsGreenbells

Night clubs restaurants etc are for adults who have mainly been vaccinated.

The vast majority of children haven’t been.

If you don’t want them to wear masks, feel free to step in when the teachers are dropping like flies.

Secondary schools have been.

Because numbers have been going up while schools have been closed for Christmas so the DfE have to pretend to be doing something and masks are easy. They also don't require any extra funding.
It's a plaster for a broken leg. Or a wet paper towel.

Unfortunately numbers will shoot up and schools will run out of staff to keep open. I'm not being a doom monger, just realistic.

An attempt to limit the spread so there are enough staff to keep schools open.

Are teachers dropping like flies though? More so than any other worker?

As a teacher, I would quite like masks please. Not to protect me (I've spent Xmas ill with omicron and I've had covid before, plus am 3x jabbed). But because ANY kind of mitigation of the staffing madness in the last 2 weeks before Xmas would be great.

We did not have enough staff to teach pupils. There is not enough supply available. One day we had 15 staff off and 2 supply in. Masks may stop students infecting staff, which will allow classes to continue.

@finfintytint we had 36 staff with covid in December. Of a staff of 120ish.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Night clubs restaurants etc are for adults who have mainly been vaccinated.

The vast majority of children haven’t been.

If you don’t want them to wear masks, feel free to step in when the teachers are dropping like flies.

We have come to a point where the virus is everywhere. You are trying to hold back a tsunami with a small flood defence. Masks are not going to do much without a hepa filter in class, return to bubbles and vaccinating the younger children.

@VaccineSticker

May I ask what job you do please?

@Finfintytint Seriously? I'd love to know what you do for work.

@BluebellsGreenbells

Night clubs restaurants etc are for adults who have mainly been vaccinated.

The vast majority of children haven’t been.

If you don’t want them to wear masks, feel free to step in when the teachers are dropping like flies.

Teachers dropping like flies having attended pubs and nightclubs... Though as you note adults have been vaccinated....

@Finfintytint

Are teachers dropping like flies though? More so than any other worker?

I think the Government expect them to: www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jan/02/moves-to-tackle-omicron-in-english-schools-not-enough-unions-warn

Are teachers dropping like flies though? More so than any other worker?

But of we are to prepare for 25% staff absences due to Covid, then more businesses will be affected with parents taking time off to look after children.

OP mentioned schools, school staff are more exposed than any other sector bar the Covid wards in hospitals.

There's a lotta panic on the board tonight!

OP mentioned schools, school staff are more exposed than any other sector bar the Covid wards in hospitals.

OP mentioning it doesn't make it true.

Secondary school pupils in Wales have been wearing masks in class for a while now. Two of my sons best friends have had Covid separately but he has avoided it even though he sits between them in lessons. (The school try to limit the number of contacts if there is Covid in the school). They get used to wearing masks and it's worth it to keep them in school.

One time a child sneezed in my face and I felt a drop of snot land in my eye. I woke up the next day with an eye infection.

With cases rising so quickly, it's really not a bad idea to keep everyone protected!

@twomumsonebump
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤢🤢🤢🤢

@onoyine

Maybe it’s all those germs/bugs we are around all day long in confined unventilated rooms…!

@onoyine

...because teachers go off sick at the drop of a hat. They average nearly 2 weeks per year on top of all their holidays.

Do you have evidence for this? I'll admit I had three weeks off a few years ago... but as my appendix had burst, there wasn't much I could do about that.