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Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
The CDC is saying "Wear a mask." Right in nice big letters, on their main coronavirus webpage here:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC It's the very next thing immediately under the big yellow box that says: "COVID-19 Alert: cases are on the rise."
On that same page, is a link to how to handle the holidays. You can see their recommendations here:
COVID-19: Holiday Celebrations | CDC
The CDC is saying open the schools when the location and severity of the spread of the virus allows for it (meaning - if there's a low risk in that district, go ahead and open it. If there's a widespread infection rate, keep it closed). It is ALSO recommending that EVEN IF THE SCHOOLS REOPEN - students and teachers wear masks, social distance, wash their hands.
Face to face WITH MASKS ON, or some other method of barrier between students (one teacher turned each desk into a play-car complete with tall 3-sided windshields so they could all see each other. In person. Without masks.)
Businesses should get back to work - with employees and customers WEARING MASKS AND MAINTAINING A SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER.
So yes - life should continue. But not as "normal." Normal is not possible at this point. |
There are guidelines in place and the schools, for the most part, have remained open which is great news. You are a former teacher if I am recalling correctly so you have a pretty good idea as to how likely 100% compliance to these guidelines will be in any given school. You know darned well that kids will have masks break, or that they will forget to put masks back on after lunch and walk halfway down a crowded hallway before realizing that their mask is off. Parents will give their sick kids Tylenol before sending them to school and then act all surprised when their kid's temperature rises as the medicine wears off and they become symptomatic. Yet, in looking at the data, schools do not appear to be the super spreaders that had so many people worried.
It's the same sort of thing with any other public place. There will be guidelines in place but nothing is ever going to be 100% perfect. There are people out there who don't know what a 6 foot distance even is much less how to always maintain 6 feet of distance between other people. Cloth masks only do so much if social distancing isn't maintained and good luck getting through a store and always maintaining 6 feet of distance. I believe it's been said that cloth masks are "better than nothing". Well, o.k.
We can't drive ourselves crazy over the little infractions that we see every day. We can't let the rules completely rob us of our quality of life, either. Living in fear of the absolute worst case scenario happening is no way to live. I, for one, am glad that I spent my Thanksgiving with my family - face to face. I don't think that virtual turkey would have tasted quite as good.