Nobody should waste their time refuting the charts you repost from social media which are regularly removed from Facebook for being false information. These charts are laughable at this point.
It's not easy to babble a two minute rant that mentions E.T., Spanish teachers & "HITLER WINS" while wearing a HazMat suit -- but this unhinged clown did it at a School Board meeting...
As i said, you are unable to refute even one of them. None of them were on Facebook, much less removed from them. None of them were removed from Twitter. None of them even have a warning from Twitter (as if that means anything). All of the information is readily available and posted (NYT source data, government websites, etc). You simply lack the ability to refute them because they are true. It's ok, GWB, I feel for you. It has to be tough being a complete fraud.
Then we must be talking about two different sets of information, because the charts posted by the user IM weren't on Facebook. And, again, Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram, etc) aren't experts in anything other than censorship. Hell, they still allow the Taliban to post. Any time, and I mean any, that you want to make an attempt at refuting any of the data - you just let me know. But we all know you can't and will just end up getting spanked like you have in this thread just yesterday.
The charts by user IM were re-shared by others on Facebook -- where Facebook promptly removed them for being misinformation. As outlined in the previously posted article.
Applause Masks are now mandatory in all Pennsylvania K-12 schools and day cares https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stori...schools-day-cares/Y23WF7XVG5C4RJNNAVXQ2R4QYE/
Let's provide an article which provides full context on this study. Note the article includes videos with more details. Here are some very important points regarding the study made in the article: The study only covers aerosols. Much of Covid is spread by large droplets exhaled from people -- Non-N95 masks are effective at stopping large droplets but less effective at stopping aerosols. Any study fully digging into masks in regards to COVID will need to cover both aerosols and large droplets. The study is more focused on ventilation in context of using the masks. The final figures arrived at assume a particular level of ventilation -- not direct efficiency of the masks along. It's not a surprise that N95 masks are best -- other studies have shown this. However they are only effective when used properly with a tight seal. As noted in the study - proper ventilation using HEPA filters is much more important indoors than the masks. Study: Mask type really matters, ventilation may matter more https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/st...matters-ventilation-may-matter-more/19844289/ A recent study out of Canada shows wide disparities in the effectiveness of different types of masks and suggests ventilation improvements can do better than common cloth and surgical masks in reducing transmission of COVID-19. University of Waterloo researchers used a sealed room, a masked mannequin and atomized olive oil to simulate breathing in their study. They used lasers to measure the aerosols, tiny particles that can float in the air, getting past masks and circulating in the room. Then they added ventilation, courtesy of an air purifier equipped with the sort of high-powered HEPA filters used in labs and on airplanes. Though the virus behind COVID-19 is present in larger droplets, which all masks help block, it's also thought to transmit through these much smaller aerosols. In fact a separate study released last week suggests airborne/aerosol transmission may be the dominant form of transmission. The University of Waterloo study reached several conclusions: N95 masks and similar masks filter exhaled air much better than cloth and surgical masks. Cloth and surgical masks caught 10 to 12 percent of aerosols breathed out in the experiment. Various N95, KN95 and R95 masks stopped 46 to 60 percent. Even N95 masks leak, primarily around the nose, allowing aerosols to circulate. This led to "notably higher" concentrations of aerosols more than six feet away from the mannequin. N95 masks with valves lost half their ability to stop aerosols. N95's without valves remain the recommended choice, "if worn correctly," but a loose-fitting N95 "provides a negligible" filtration efficiency. The study found "increased ventilation/air-cleaning capacity significantly reduces the transmission risk in an indoor environment, surpassing the apparent mask filtration efficacy." The university put that another way in a press release on the study: "Even modest ventilation rates were found to be as effective as the best masks in reducing the risk of transmission." "Indeed, our research shows that fresh air exchange or air purification can be very effective in controlling aerosol buildup indoors," Professor Serhiy Yarusevych, one of the researchers, told WRAL News via email. "The most beneficial strategy would be to employ both masks and ventilation to minimize the risk of virus transmission. However, given the relatively low efficiency of cloth and surgical masks in aerosol control, it is essential to complement their use by adequate ventilation for prolonged indoor occupancy." "Other studies have shown before" WRAL News shared this study with four experts here in North Carolina: A virologist, an epidemiologist, a chemist who previously tested masks in his own experiments and a mechanical engineer who studies fluid dynamics. "This paper confirms with a more controlled set-up (and more math) what other studies have shown before," said Dirk Dittmer, director of virology and global oncology programs at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "N95 is much better than anything else." Dittmer said that, in Germany, the government routinely sends his parents and others N95 masks. He also said ventilation is important, along with mask fit. Because he works in a lab with coronaviruses, Dittmer said he gets annual fitting lessons. Pia MacDonald, a UNC professor of epidemiology and senior director of applied health research for RTI International, said ventilation should be considered crucial. "While masking is one strategy for reducing risk of transmission indoors, the combination with ventilation (air exchange) is a critical strategy to reducing risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission," she said. Tarek Echekki, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at N.C. State, noted that the Waterloo study had an average droplet size of one micron. "A human exhalation may involve larger droplets as well," he said. "It is not clear if the use of smaller droplets is placing the more common face masks (surgical and cloth) at a disadvantage and thus reducing their efficacy." Echekki noted that the study doesn't account for any protection you get for your self in wearing a mask, it only measures aerosols exhaled. He said the experiment deviates from normal life in a number of ways, but he called it "a nice addition to the available literature." Martin Fischer, a Duke University chemistry professor who compared masks in his own experiment last year, said the Waterloo study shows yet again the complexity of evaluating masks. "I would take this study with a grain of salt," Fischer said. "How many of the super-spreader events involved a bunch of folks sitting still doing nothing but steady breathing in a room with absolutely no air movement? Nevertheless, the message as far as masks and ventilation should be: Wear a mask, try to make it fit to avoid gaps, and exchange your air (filter or exchange the air in a room, or go outside). And go get vaccinated!" Ventilation efforts limited Ventilation has gotten less attention during this pandemic in part because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization went back-and-forth last year on whether the virus was likely it was to transmit as an aerosol, in spite of growing scientific consensus. A study published last week in Science argues that "unequivocal evidence indicates that airborne transmission is a major pathway for the spread of SARS-CoV-2." It makes a number of recommendations, including a focus on mask fit and increased focus on ventilation. A number of other studies have concluded ventilation deserves more attention, including several that found plastic barriers may increase transmission by impeding airflow. Asked about the Waterloo study, North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services called ventilation "part of a layered strategy to reduce exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19." "Increasing the amount of outdoor air into a building, increasing filtration, and enhanced air cleaning, such as using HEPA filtration systems, are important factors to improving indoor air quality and reducing exposure to viruses," DHHS spokeswoman Catie Armstrong said in a statement. "Improving indoor air quality and using a properly fitted mask are additive – they work better together to help control the spread of COVID-19." It's difficult to pin down how much, out of the billions in federal coronavirus dollars that flowed to North Carolina in the last year, has been spent on ventilation. The state Department of Public Instruction, for example, said Monday it couldn't provide a figure for schools. It's online COVID money tracker lists only a single HVAC contract totaling $1.78 million, but it's likely more has been spent, just identified differently or bundled with other projects. Wake County schools spokeswoman Lisa Luten said the system upgraded its HVAC filters to MERV-13's and plans to spend about $940,000 this year on filters alone. That sort of filter captures at least 75 percent of particles below 1 micron in size and at least 90 percent of particles above that, according to Yarusevych, one of the researchers in the Waterloo University study. HEPA filters used in the study catch at least 99 percent of particles across this entire range, he said in an email. A few days into the school year last week, both Wake and Durham public schools moved toward getting students outside more often for lunch. Before that, parents in Durham raised their own money to buy tents for lunch and air purifiers for classrooms. Luten said the system couldn't point to any spending to move students outside, or to improve ventilation, beyond the filter improvements. But she also said school HVAC systems are tested every year and meet higher standards than, say, a home. She said system leadership has reviewed a number of studies on ventilation and COVID. "It’s hard to read those studies and compare them to our schools," she said. Whatever the ventilation needs in schools around the state, they're not limited to COVID. In the state's latest facility needs survey, schools listed nearly $700 million in desired HVAC work.
In North Carolina, the state is allowing each county school district to set their masking policy. School districts that started with masks from the very beginning are doing fairly well -- for example Wake County schools with 161K student has just over 600 students and 128 staff members out with Covid in August. However smaller school districts, mainly in rural red counties, which started without masks were quickly overrun within two weeks of opening schools -- and now are reverting to requiring masks. 2 More Charlotte-Area Districts Mandate Masks As COVID-19 Disrupts In-Person School The Iredell-Statesville and Catawba County school boards approved mask mandates Tuesday as the COVID-19 delta variant disrupted the start of in-person classes. Iredell-Statesville Superintendent Jeff James was clearly frustrated when he opened the special school board meeting. At the end of the first week of school, 61 students had tested positive for COVID-19 and almost 600 students had been quarantined because of close contact. That’s out of a district of about 20,000 students. By 4 p.m. Tuesday the positive cases had more than doubled and almost 1,400 students were in quarantine. James told the board that if they insisted on giving employees and students the option not to wear masks, those numbers would keep rising. "By Friday I will tell you, looking at the current numbers, we will easily be at 5,000 to 6,000 quarantined and probably 200, 250 that are testing positive," he said. James said it’s too late to avoid closing some schools temporarily. "As of about 24 hours from now, if we can get computers deployed, our first school will be going virtual for two weeks to break the quarantine cycle," he said. State's Quarantine Rules Are Key North Carolina’s school safety rules allow unvaccinated students to stay in school if they’re exposed to COVID-19, as long as they don’t have symptoms and everyone is properly masked. James said the board now had only two choices: Mandate masks or prepare to shut down a lot of schools. "I’ve said this for a year and a half," he said. "I continue to say this. You’ve listened to me but you’ve not heard me. The quarantine rules will determine if we’re going to be face-to-face or virtual. That’s all it comes down to." The Iredell-Statesville board voted 4-2 to require masks. A few hours later the Catawba County school board followed suit, voting 5-2 to make masks mandatory starting Thursday. "As of 4 p.m. (Tuesday), the district had approximately 9% of all students (1,447) quarantined or isolated and 58 staff quarantined or isolated," Catawba County Schools said in a notice to families. "This represents a 530% increase in the number of student and 153% increase in staff quarantines/isolations since the beginning of school." Other Districts Also Struggle Districts across the region are grappling with the effects of the delta variant as most of them enter their second week of in-person classes. Union County, the largest district in North Carolina to open with masks optional, reported 145 students testing positive and more than 1,700 in quarantine after the first week, in a district of about 40,000 students. Union County's Parkwood High School was also added to the state's COVID-19 school cluster list Tuesday. The designation means health officials believe at least five cases are linked to school spread. Many area schools have more than five cases, but those are likely categorized as community spread. Cabarrus County Schools, with about 32,000 students, had 215 student cases the first week and almost 600 students quarantined. That board decided at the last minute to require masks. Rowan-Salisbury Schools opened Aug. 11 with masks optional and made them mandatory a week later. As of this week it has COVID clusters at seven of its 35 schools, more than any other district in the region. As of Monday Rowan-Salisbury was reporting 282 student cases, out of about 18,000 students. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was the last in the area to bring students back, starting Aug. 25. Its first-week report shows 125 student cases out of almost 144,000 students. The CMS reports don't show how many students are quarantined. CMS was one of the first in the state to require masks after the state lifted its mandate. State health officials still urge all schools to require masks inside. The (Raleigh) News & Observer reports that as of Tuesday night, only 11 districts representing 6% of North Carolina students still have mask-optional policies.