This was political eight weeks in. Remember that pair of doctors that suggested gradually opening up at that time, taking off the masks? They were savaged online. Sweden is being savaged. They never closed. The Amish have now achieved herd immunity. The news doesn’t report the news anymore. The media detests anything conservative so it makes sense Florida’s governor would be targeted.
We CAN take off the masks
More than one community has stayed open with stats similar to those that closed down. The Wall Street Journal confirmed, “data shows Florida started in-person learning without turning schools into superspreaders.”
Florida opened last July. The Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran wrote, “School districts and charter school governing boards must provide the full array of services that are required by law so that families who wish to educate their children in a brick and mortar school full-time have the opportunity to do so; these services include in-person instruction (barring a state or local health directive to the contrary), specialized instruction and services for students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or live synchronous or asynchronous instruction with the same curriculum as in-person instruction and the ability to interact with a student’s teacher and peers as approved by the Commissioner of Education. Florida consistently has had lower rates of Covid-19 in schools than in the community at large, according to a data dashboard created by Brown University, data company Qualtrics and others. In the last two weeks of February, the daily case rate per 100,000 people was 22 among students and 15 among school staff, compared with 27 in the community, according to the data. In earlier periods going back to October, the student and staff rates were almost always less than half the community rate. Having kids in school is the safest place for them to be. We did have a plan and it was based on facts and science.”
The only reason for masks is political now
Robert Runcie, Superintendent of Broward County Public schools essentially said if it can be done here, it can be done anywhere. “If we’ve been able to successfully open without any major outbreaks in our schools I believe that it can be done nationwide.” Broward County is the nation’s six largest school district.
It’s part of childhood development to be able to see people’s faces. You can’t do that with masks. Runcie would have encouraged opening up sooner. Protocols were in place. “Given that reality, I would’ve opened schools earlier for face-to-face instruction but that’s Monday morning quarterbacking in hindsight. Because we know how important face-to-face instruction is for so many of our students, we know many students are not making adequate academic progress. Our teachers want to be with our students, and students need to be in school. Those relationships cannot be replaced. Distance learning and technology can never replace that.”
Masks might be easier to enforce in cities
Where there’s more people. Remember mom telling you to “get outside, play in the fresh air?” Rural communities are going to be a very different picture.
The CDC actually reported smaller COVID numbers in rural Wisconsin. Democrats maybe ok with that now, Biden is in the White House, the masks can start coming off. That report found, “A total of 191 Covid-19 cases were reported among the 5,530 students and staff over a three-month period. Seven of those cases, or 3.7%, resulted from in-school transmission, and occurred among students. There were no reported instances of child-to-adult transmission. During this time period, the positive rate in surrounding communities ranged from 7% to 40%. Attending school where recommended mitigation strategies are implemented might not place children in a higher risk environment than exists in the community.”
