Coronavirus Outbreak: Part 2

My big issue with masks indoors will be if they still can’t have band class. I have a hard time reconciling the fact that they managed to figure out a way to have all these contact sports but couldn’t figure out a way to have freaking band class. But DS missed an entire year and a quarter of band.

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I have a mask question. DH has started wearing his mask again at work but he’s upping the game to a K-95. All our double layered cloth masks are used once (day) and then put in the laundry. Can someone wear a K-95 more than one day? Or should they be disposed of at the end of each day? I was thinking too that someone here said they wore the K-95 under their Disney masks. If we covered it w/ a cloth mask could we then use the K-95 multiple days?

My kids had band last year. They even had a concert in May. It can be done.

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My kids (in MA) also had band last year - Middle school had an outdoor concert, HS did not but presumably could have

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At times we had remote band but by April we were performing in smaller groups outside. In MA we had indoor requirements that included 10ft spacing, time limits, and “low tones” in chorus. We do not have new guidance (unless I missed it) yet.

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I thought this is interesting b/c I believe it’s Advent Health that is partnering w/ Disney to be their official health care provider. Disney is going to be creating an onsite clinic for guests and CMs. I wonder if they will have a say in mask guidance in the parks?

AdventHealth limits visitors, enacts other restrictions amid fastest increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations of pandemic - Orlando Sentinel

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One challenging thing about Disney putting a mask mandate back in is that I wouldn’t trust them not to just yank it back out with no notice. How would anyone count on it being in place for their trip?

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Considering I was on shop Disney today and all the masks are like 65% off, I doubt it. Looks like Disney is done pushing masks.

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I have found most places have significantly discounted the price of their masks.

Masks are on sale (discounted) in park/resort shops too right now. I still think they could put a mask policy back in place if needed. If hospitals are adjusting and the local mayor has changed mask policies again then it wouldn’t be far fetched for Disney to follow suit too.

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I meant to say DONE pushing masks.

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Our local middle school has 6th, 7th, and 8th graders with the overwhelming majority of the 6th graders starting the year as 11yos.

While the current plan (approved by the school board on Monday) has all students K-5 wearing masks whenever they are indoors (as well as all of the staff in the elementary schools), the 6th graders will only be required to wear masks when in their classrooms. Not only will the 7th & 8th graders only have the option of masking, but the 6th graders don’t need to wear masks in the hallways because it would “make them uncomfortable sticking out amongst the the older students.” :woman_facepalming:t3:

I continue to be grateful that my son isn’t attending our local schools…but am concerned for our community.

I figured and I was just saying that it appears a lot of places seem to be doing the same as Disney.

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Answering my own question… .although I’m still not satisfied. I’ll keep reading: COVID-19: Considerations for Wearing Masks | CDC

Article showing the numbers of breakthrough cases requiring hospitalization and death. The vaccine works. https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-cases-surging-not-because-093032770.html

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more:
For cloth masks, it’s easy to just toss it in the washer and then it’s good to go. The CDC recommends washing it with your regular laundry, and making sure it’s completely dry before putting it back on.

For disposable masks, The name says it all. The reuse factor just isn’t there, and should be disposed of after a day of use, or as soon as it gets moist, whichever comes first.

If you are using an N-95 Mask, a new study from the National Institute of Health said you can reuse it up to three times. While the masks are intended for single-use, the four cleaning methods they tested for effectively decontaminated the masks twice before damaging the seal and fit.

Those cleaning methods were a hydrogen peroxide vapor spray, heat treatment at 70 degrees Celsius, ultraviolet light, and a 70 percent ethanol spray.

No matter what method you use, after two cleanings and three wears, its time to switch out the mask.

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I think we are on track for another wave. Although it will mainly involve the unvaccinated that much virus circulating coupled with not everyone who is unvaccinated wearing a mask worries me. My family is masking again indoors. All the over 12’s in our family are vaccinated but my nephews are too young and some of the adults have underlying conditions. Summer means most of our activities with friends are outdoors anyway. I hope the under 12”s are masked indoors this school year. The kids were great about wearing them last year and we had very few illnesses and no spread even when there were Covid cases.

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That’s interesting. We had a few N95 masks on hand pre-pandemic, and I definitely reused them after looking online and finding some guidance on doing it. I used a rotation method - basically, I left the mask in a bag with ventilation for at least a few days before wearing it again. I can’t seem to find the article I originally looked at, but here are a couple of similar ones:

N95 Respirator Cleaning and Reuse Methods Proposed by the Inventor of the N95 Mask Material (note: not peer reviewed)

These are pretty old, though. I can’t find anything addressing the rotation strategy one way or the other that’s more recent.

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That’s similar to what we did also. Paper bag for 72 hours. Also put a surgical mask over it while wearing then threw away the surgical mask.

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Yes, sure seems like a new wave is coming. I agree, as a country we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Not enough testing, not enough staying home after exposure or symptoms, not enough contact tracing, not enough vaccinations, not enough mask wearing, not enough distancing, too many people taking too much risk for the community.

In our area, I recently heard about a sleepover party in which 6 kids (under 12) tested positive thereafter.

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