My daughter Ursala — mother of two young girls, artist, athlete, and president of the Pagosa Peak Open School board of directors — has her doubts about the protective value of mask-wearing, based on the online research she’s been doing during this period of COVID-19 isolation and distancing. She’s uncovered enough negative press about face coverings to make her wonder if extended sessions behind a mask can actually be harmful to the wearer.
Based on my own research — also, online — it’s pretty clear that no one yet has definitive answers to her questions. Some studies done in clinical, healthcare settings, focused on certain types of commercially-produced masks, have indicated a protective effect… but I can’t find any information about the value of wearing, for example, a “bandana” over your face. Unless you’re planning to rob a bank.
We recently shared an eloquent three-part essay on the subject of mask-wearing by Daily Post contributor Ana Sancho Sama, writing in support of a local face covering mandate such as the one the Pagosa Springs Town Council declined to put in place earlier this month. (The state of Colorado subsequently mandated masks for indoor settings, starting July 17. The state order does not apply to all people, nor to all situations. You can read the full order here.)
But “expert medical opinion” can be found on both sides of the mask issue. Here’s a thoughtful summary of some conflicting opinions, on Snopes. And as with so many controversies surrounding the spread of the novel coronavirus, we’re still shooting in the dark, in terms of confirmed scientific data.
One thing that I can say with confidence: a mask creates feelings of separation, an emotional distancing, as suggested perfectly by the “cowboy bandana” photo shown above. A mask is “unfriendly”, generally speaking. We draw social clues from observing a person’s face during a verbal interaction… and when half their face is covered by fabric, it can generate an uncomfortable sense of uncertainly about the person’s intentions.
In terms of stopping the spread of a disease, that’s probably the very best thing about current mandatory mask orders now being handed down by various governors. Masks make us uncomfortable around one another, and thus promote physical distancing, and generate a desire to avoid social interactions. Whether a face mask actually does or doesn’t reduce the aerosol spread of a virus might be immaterial. It simply encourages us to avoid one another.
Of course, the flip side of physical distancing and avoidance of social interactions can easily be chronic depression — especially among people who live alone. In extreme cases, loneliness and isolation can be deadly.
Which is to say, the disease known as COVID-19 can be dangerous. Measures taken to avoid it can also be harmful.
This morning, I am reviewing the draft Archuleta School District 50 JT Opening Plan for the 2010-2021 school year. From that draft report:
We believe it is in the best interest of our students’ overall physical and social-emotional well being to attend school, interact with their teachers and peers in-person when possible. As we plan for returning to school this fall, the health and safety of our students and staff is our top priority. Therefore, our plan contains various models, from complete in-person teaching and learning to complete online learning. It is absolutely our hope that we can serve our students and families through in-person learning for the majority of the school year…
Parent choice is key to the successful return to school this fall. Protecting the health of vulnerable populations, including students, families and staff is important. Each family may have a different level of comfort during this time, which is why we have developed learning pathways to serve our students’ needs.
Families will have the opportunity to choose between:
- In-person learning
- Online instruction
- Or, at the District’s discretion for student health reasons, a pathway that involves components of in-person learning as well as a blended learning option.
The decision to engage in online or in-person instruction should be made in collaboration with the student’s parent/guardian and their medical provider.
When I was a child, growing up in the 1950s, parents had good cause to fear certain diseases. The common childhood disease known as measles, for example, could be deadly in some cases. Scarlet fever could result in blindness and deafness, or worse. Polio could land a child in an “iron lung”… or in a coffin.
But life was much more treacherous for American children back in the 1800s. One estimate (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs) suggests that, in the year 1800, only 530 out of every 1,000 American children — barely 50 percent — lived to see their 5th birthday. By the year 1900, the mortality rate had dropped significantly, with 760 out of 1,000 making it to age 5.
In 1955, as I was about to enter kindergarten, only 35 out of 1,000 children failed to show up for their first year of schooling. Last year, America’s early childhood mortality had dropped to about 7 out of 1,000.
The US rate might be slightly higher this year, during a global pandemic — or maybe not. A recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) listed only 21 COVID-caused deaths among youths aged 17 or younger between February 12 and May 18. The total US coronavirus fatalities during that same period numbered 83,000.
COVID-19 can certainly be deadly… but apparently… not for children? Particularly immune to harm, it would seem, are children between the ages of 5 and 10 years.
Nevertheless, the Archuleta School District recently got back surveys from 453 families, and according to the draft Opening Plan, only 51% of families were “certain” that their children would attend in-person instruction. Another 15% thought they were “likely” to send their children for in-classroom instruction.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21, the district will hold a pair of parent meetings regarding the plan, at 5:30pm and 7pm, with both meetings taking place virtually via Zoom. Those looking to attend either meeting are required to RSVP to Robyn Bennett at rbennett@pagosa.k12.co.us or by calling 264-2228, ext. 5401 to obtain access information.
We note that things are in constant flux. Information changes by the day, it seems…. sometimes, by the hour. When the school district Opening Plan survey first went out to parents and staff in early July, we were not seeing an obvious spike in COVID cases nationwide.
Now, we are.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.