The list of bad decisions by so-called experts and leaders during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic keeps getting longer. Now we're learning that plexiglass installed in schools and businesses across the country, at an enormous cost, may actually increase the spread of the the disease. Closing playgrounds and keeping kids inside also makes things worse.
Aerosol scientists kept telling me that plexiglass barriers might be making things *worse* by blocking ventilation. Just out in Science. Desk shields associated with *increased* illness risk in schools. Closing playground? Also uptick. So many upshots. https://t.co/lcyt647Xkm pic.twitter.com/JZs0CcdCO8
— zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) May 7, 2021
I have a growing databases detailing rules and restrictions around the world—to this day—that made sense from where we started—short-range respiratory droplets—but do not make sense at all, and are even counterproductive. Need to change that AND also emphasize what remains same.
— zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) May 7, 2021
This news comes after a study from Brown University shows masking students for hours on end in schools doesn't necessarily stop the spread and could also be making things worse. From Scott Morefield:
In areas of high community transmission, masked school students saw a case rate (defined here as daily cases per 100,000) 37 percent higher than non-masked school students, or 19 cases per 100,000 in 'no masks required' schools vs 26 in 'masks required' schools. Even worse, staff experienced a case rate 84 percent worse in masked schools, at 19 cases per 100,000 in "no masks required" schools vs 35 in 'masks required' schools. In areas of low or substantial community transmission, students experienced no difference in case rates while staff numbers in "masks required" schools were slightly worse.
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Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci and the CDC are still recommending children be masked outside during summer camp.
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