the continued surge¶

Despite the continued surge of omicron, Baltimore City Public Schools remains committed to in-person learning at all costs.

Here's a point-by-point examination of their "steps to keep everyone safe" https://t.co/dMiDQOXxgz "Masks are required indoors at all schools and offices."

Students have to take off their masks to eat breakfast and lunch, generally shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers in cafeterias. The studies looking at mask use have emphasized their effectiveness when used ALL THE TIME. Here's a study that shows that when mask use is 100%, viral reproduction in the population could drop below a value of 1. During lunch, that reproduction number is the same as the R(0), which for omicron looks to be around 3.5 or more.

https://t.co/xnoj9uCT6h "We have upgraded air filters at schools or added air purifiers where needed."

Key phrase being "where needed." Multiple staff members across the district have reported that their rooms do not have any filtration at all. Additionally, Consumer-grade air purifiers have not been shown to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Here is a study that showed that an industrial-grade HEPA14/UV sterilizer with an ACH of 5-10 volumes per hour does filter out COVID aerosols. https://t.co/9bq2obXCaU "Unlike other school districts, we test students and staff weekly for COVID-19."

Parents have to opt in to testing. Speaking from experience, getting students to bring home a paper, have their parents sign it, and bring it back has low rates of follow-through. If you're going to tout your ~nationally-recognized testing program~, you need to give us data on how many students and staff members actually end up getting tested.

And testing being conducted weekly at a time when daily cases are skyrocketing is not something to be proud of. "Staff members must be vaccinated."

Omicron has a constellation of mutations that have been shown to escape neutralization by antibodies from both vaccinated and infected individuals.

https://t.co/RwiAnsjUUQ This means that even if you're vaccinated, even if you're boosted, even if you've been infected before, the antibodies your immune system produces in response to the old strains are not going to be anywhere near as effective against this variant. Has BCPSS done a better job of handling this than other districts? Yes. Plenty of places are throwing everyone to the wolves, pretending the pandemic is over, and seeing their cases explode.

But this commitment to in-person learning at all costs is about to make its cost known.