To Mask or not to two - Mask Megathread cont.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233835#Comment_118233835

As opposed to just exhaling out and having other kids breathing in whatever was in the moisture and condensation?

If you think about that for a while you might find it disgusting too. And more risky than touching their own masks... how is that more risky than inhaling covid droplets in the air? So how does covid get onto the mask? If they are wearing masks they wont be putting their hands into their mouths.

Why do you think they didnt recommend it for younger ages?

There were concerns which age groups could use masks that sone would be too young.

Its not theatre. It reduces cases and outbreaks. Education has been disrupted by closures and absences of teachers and pupils.

Bananaleaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233835#Comment_118233835

Tell me what the other options are. I'm dying to hear this ....

I didn't say they were the only options either. I pointed out that they could be taught outdoors (I better be very clear here and emphatically point out that I AM NOT suggesting this)

Masks full of condensation? Do 9 year olds breathe differently to the rest of us??

It's not theatre, it is mathematics. If there are not enough teachers to come into the building, your kid can't come to school.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233844#Comment_118233844

They'll be touching their faces now asjusting masks being worn for hours at a time. But you seem happy out with that.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233865#Comment_118233865

You are very naive if your think 9 year olds will correctly wear a mask for 5 or 6 hours at a time and won't be messing with them, touching their face, taking them on and off etc. Bizarre thinking to be honest.

Anyway you still haven't answered the question that if these are the only options and it's so critical as you claim and outdoors is ruled out, why is it ok for half the primary school population not to wear masks?

Bananaleaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233996#Comment_118233996

I have answered it. It is simple mathematics. They need to keep as many teachers as they can in the schools. Your children cannot be in school if there are no teachers available to teach them. There are some subs, but not enough. We are already seeing entire classes being sent home because there isn't anyone available to supervise them.

Masking some will alleviate this pressure. It obviously makes sense to mask the older ones because they will be better able to manage than the very young ones. What's bizarre about that? Should they mask the youngest instead?

Or mask nobody? Which brings us back to MY question, that YOU haven't yet answered - what are the alternative options, other than mask up, teach outdoors or close?

I won't hold my breath waiting for an answer ...

xhomelezz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233996#Comment_118233996

Very naive would be thinking 9 year olds are not able for a simple task.

political analyst

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233434#Comment_118233434

There is a school for the deaf in this country. It is absurd to think that pupils with special needs have not been taken into account in other democratic countries in which mask-wearing is compulsory in schools.

mcsean2163

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233484#Comment_118233484

Kids are meant to have fun in life. Wearing masks is bad developmentally for regular kids and much worse for hearing impaired or those with special needs

Secondly, it's a load of bollocks. Young children will pull at them, contaminate their hands and in essence render them useless.

It's virtue signalling that harms children. I know only one parent in favour of it. It's madness driven by lunatics focussed only on covid19 reduction at the expense of everything else

Bananaleaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234571#Comment_118234571

Okay, well I will ask you what I asked @namloc1980 (and am still awaiting a reply)

What options do you suggest we try in order to keep teachers from becoming close contacts, therefore keeping the schools open?

Also, "kids are meant to have fun in life" ... we all have things that we are 'meant' to be doing. We are talking about school here. You're not supposed to be sending them in for a bit of entertainment. It's not the circus.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233996#Comment_118233996

A 9 year old can ride a bike play hurling wearing helmets... they can wear a face mask. This is in practice in other EU countries and US states and SE Asia.

Evidence there shows less covid cases and outbreaks due to mask mandates.

You keep ignoring this is a respiratory disease. You are talking about touching masks while ignoring what will happen with no masks? They will exhale and inhale the virus to which you offer nothing in reply.

If they touch the outside of the mask that is not a risk unless they then put an unsanitised to their mouth.

By getting the age groups to wear masks that can do so... we reduce risk to those groups and teachers. Due to teacher absences we may get to the point where schools will close for age groups.

Its like saying dont try to reduce cases at all cos we cant stop them all.

lulublue22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233835#Comment_118233835

Primary schools are creaking at the seams - We are seeing increased transmission in schools ( despite what PH would like you to think) amongst children and fully vaccinated staff , with absolutely no subs available. Educational provision for children is being negatively impacted. The simple truth is if transmission in schools is not checked then more and more children will continue to loose out. We and we are not alone have already had to close classes. At the end of the day what do secondary schools have that primary schools do not - mask wearing and vaccinations - both of which seem to create extreme reactions at primary level. The primary school system is under huge pressure ( at the moment ) we can either try and alleviate that pressure or accept the consequences of not doing so.

mcsean2163

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234731#Comment_118234731

Answer.

Covid19 is an airborne virus with a low fatality rate. Covid19 is sidelined. Treat it same as influenza. When a new influenza variant appears there is no panic.

Get on with life.

The best way to learn is when happy.

My parents generation were physically beaten and abused in school. That was not a positive learning environment.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118234571#Comment_118234571

Contaminate hands crap and then what? Touch everything with their contaminated hands? Speaking about covid, touching objects isn't a big issue. It's airborne, it gets breathed out. So covering up where it comes out makes sense. It doesn't make masks useless.

Bananaleaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235009#Comment_118235009

Are you actually comparing corporal punishment to wearing a mask?

LOL.

Okay, let's do it your way and do nothing and see what happens then.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233835#Comment_118233835

Yes it is disgusting masks full of moisture and condensation. Any chance of giving kids more than one mask to change? You know change after each break?

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235009#Comment_118235009

So between kids being happy there is no ground between that and beating the kids?

Linking physical assault of kids onto the discussion on masks, a measure to protect them and their teachers is completely without merit or foundation. Obvious and blatant strawman.

This is far more transmissible than the flu with far more capacity to disrupt health and education services.

This is being called for by teachers unions and medical professionals.

It is a measure in force in many other jurisdictions with no apparent serious consequences for pupils education.

mcsean2163

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235038#Comment_118235038

Where do you think the air that they breath out goes? If you really think kids wearing **** cotton masks or incorrectly worn medical ones makes a difference...

And who cares, are we all vaccinated? Mortality rates are tiny since vaccination.

Madness. Stop the madness.

mcsean2163

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235060#Comment_118235060

Your previous statement was that schools were not a place to have fun. I really hope you're not a teacher.

Our teachers (bar one) take the opposite approach and it works wonderfully.

M_Murphy57

Other options not involving masks include regular antigen testing & bringing back contact tracing.

Surely we could try antigen before masking kids who (with afterschool) may need to be I'm a mask for 10 hours a day.

This is virtue signalling nonsense so FF can pretend we aren't going backwards. Because MM & TH would rather introduce something new and pointless than admit they were wrong on antigen or wrong to stop contact tracing.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235055#Comment_118235055

And is every child in the country going to have access to multiple masks per day and remember to change them and not touch their faces and contaminate their hands etc.?

It's very weird to see adults eagerly promoting the masking up of our children for hours on end each day. Pretty disturbing to be honest.

Regular antigen testing and bring back contact tracing would do much more to limit spread in schools but no, the Covideers only want to see young children masked up.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235070#Comment_118235070

You tell me where the air they breath out goes?

Being vaccinated doesn't stop getting infected. Teachers are getting sick and they have to isolate.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235152#Comment_118235152

This is just nonsense. Juniors to 2nd won't have masks, do they breathe in a different way to older children? Imagine taking issue to people breathing 🙄😂

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235136#Comment_118235136

I don't know why you keep going on about touching faces and contaminating hands. Touching things with contaminated hands isn't an issue with this virus.

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235167#Comment_118235167

At least you see a solution now. Mask younger kids as well. CDC recommends masks for kids over the age of two.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235179#Comment_118235179

Horrible to see adults eager to mask up children. What have we become.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235136#Comment_118235136

Why is it disturbing? Weird response indeed. Says a lot more about where you are coming from. You find it disturbing. Think about that.

Adults and older kids have been going around with masks for over a year now as a safety measure. Why would it be disturbing to look at masks for younger kids...

You are advocating they be regularly swabbed? But that doesnt 'disturb' you.

Right.

They wont have access to supply of masks but they will have access to antigen testing even though masks are cheaper or reusable?

Swabs carried out by whom exactly? Cos according to you 9 year old cant wear a mask so I assume we arent relying on them to self swab and test?

Even for adults self swabbed tests lose reliability.

So how about less of the disturbing dog whistling. Its either a lame debating tactic or conspiracy theory innuendo but not fooling anyone.

namloc1980

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235169#Comment_118235169

So the public health advice to wash hands and avoid touching your face and to clean surfaces etc is just rubbish I suppose?

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/preventing-the-spread/how-coronavirus-spread/

fun loving criminal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235264#Comment_118235264

You should be more worried about close contact and airborne spread of the virus. Kids don't distance from each other. Wearing face masks is one protective measure.

If kids are masked up there will be less virus to fall onto surfaces as well.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235264#Comment_118235264

You can sanitise your hands after touching surfaces. You cant sanitise your lungs after inhaling infected droplet.

Did you even read the page you selectively quoted?

"Getting COVID-19 from surfaces is probably much less common than getting it through the air from someone who has the virus. But keeping your hands clean can reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 and other infections."

https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/covid19/preventing-the-spread/how-coronavirus-spread/

Seanergy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233567#Comment_118233567

You clearly didn't spend anytime reading the tweet. Love away though.

Far right activists from Barrett's fascist group NP have made a list of Telegram channels together showing what groups they are active in as of Oct 2021. It includes many channels targetting schools, teacher unions and parents orgs. These groups have been targeting hard since thursday.