School numbers are thankfully still low in comparison to the start of 2022. They are more in line with the start of the 2021 year.
I’m a bit concerned that they are ticking up a bit each week.
I continue to see higher numbers in some of the least expected districts. Concord 50, Natick 30, Hopkinton 33, and so on. I spoke to an admin and she seems to think these may be the towns who are reporting more accurate numbers. It makes sense as we know these numbers as a whole are not accurate….which I believe is by design
Totals. 4,935 1,398
Overall student and staff total 6,333
I would be curious if there is a direct correlation to school cases and mandatory/optional mask wearing.
I have no doubt that there is a correlation between switching to home tests so that numbers are not true and mask wearing
I’m not sure of the answer to your question. It seems numbers are going down in most if not all other areas yet creeping up in school. It is just three weeks, so I don’t think long enough yet. I’m not sure how long before something is considered a trend. Joshua??
Somehow I avoided getting infected (my BA.1 infection helped, as well as my being triple-vaxxed). I was quite careful. But, with 1 in 16 Brits currently infected – that’s an ONS estimate – I had to be in close contact with people with Covid throughout my trip. Every place I went was packed this time – from the Underground Tube (their T system) to restaurants to a museum I went to.
The bad news from the UK is that hospital admissions are rising so fast; a further 20% this week. Two groups are being disproportionately impacted by hospital admissions: >75 (must be due to waning immunity) and the 0 to 5 group (unvaccinated). There are relatively few children in hospital, of course. But, the increase in pediatric admissions is steep.
Here’s a tweet about the UK. The picture from the Tube is representative in terms of public transportation being mobbed. It was packed at all times of the day. One thing that isn’t representative is the mask-wearing in this photo. There were very few masks being worn on the Tube while I was there. https://twitter.com/CMichaelGibson/status/1507421447425245198
It will be interesting if the airlines convince Biden to lift mask mandates as they are set to expire next month on the 18th. I believe the airlines want it lifted asap.
Joshua, are the airline mask mandates only in effect for flights to and from the U.S.?
Btw Joshua, how is your daughter doing health wise? Any more side effects from her bout with Covid?
My daughter and boyfriend appear to be doing fine post Covid. Thanks for asking.
Some airlines in Europe have abandoned mandatory masking. You can see the differences at Heathrow in London, where some of the lines of passengers had few masks, while others were all masked.
I think the airline executives want the mask mandates lifted. Yes. But, certainly not all flight attendants. I spoke to 3 flight attendants during my flights about the mask mandates. Two want the mandates to remain; one wanted the mandate to be dropped. It’s obviously a very small sample. But, my guess is there’s no consensus around masking among flight attendants. And, they’re the ones who are the most at risk. Bear in mind, U.S. flight attendants tend to be older than flight attendants in other countries. [I find this refreshing, by the way. Flight crews on many non U.S. airlines tend to look like a bygone era – 1960s! – in which stewardesses were all young and looked a certain way. As recently as a few years ago, Icelandair was openly discriminatory against older (>35!) aspiring flight attendants – https://icelandmag.is/article/age-restrictions-new-icelandair-flight-attendants-criticized%5D
I must subscribe in order to read the article. Too bad as I was interested in the age discrimination on “older” flight attendants. Oh well.
Joshua. as for the airline execs wanting masks removed, are there fewer passengers these days due to the mandate? I never thought about lost revenue.
Not sure you saw my links yesterday Philip re the airlines. I’ll past below.
It was extended because the flight attendant Union (Delta is not unionized) were upset if he mandate was being lifted. As they should be. They were not only concerned about crew cut about at risk passengers, including young children.
Who do we think has the bottom line in mind and who do we think has the paying customers in mind? Shame on Biden if he not only doesn’t lift it but if he doesn’t extend it yet again
Read your post the other day. Thank for your re-posting the links.
I flew Delta, by the way, and so I spoke with 3 Delta flight attendants.
Philip, the gist of the article is that in 2015 Icelandair posted jobs for flight attendants with an age restriction for applicants: 35! I am sure this would violate laws here in the U.S., as it should. In my many years of flying, I’ve noticed that flight attendants in the U.S. look a LOT more like us all than in many other countries, where the Barbie Doll – whether Barbie or Ken – is still often the norm. Similarly, our news anchors and TV journalists and personalities tend to be more like us all than news anchors and TV journalists/personalities overseas. I really like this about America. Yes, there is often a favored look, on local TV, especially. But, it’s not to the degree I’ve seen in many overseas markets.
Darn. I wish I’d known you were flying delta. As you know Mac’s sister flew delta from 1991 until 2019. Internationally at first. I always ask folks who fly delta to see if the attendants knew her. Prior, she flew Pam Am from 1969 until it stopped operating in 1991. She flew to London on Pan Am 103 and was bumped for the return trip which of course tragically went down over Lockerbie. The airlines loved that she spoke six languages so chose her for their international team
Thanks TK.
Rising Omicron cases in China.
School numbers are thankfully still low in comparison to the start of 2022. They are more in line with the start of the 2021 year.
I’m a bit concerned that they are ticking up a bit each week.
I continue to see higher numbers in some of the least expected districts. Concord 50, Natick 30, Hopkinton 33, and so on. I spoke to an admin and she seems to think these may be the towns who are reporting more accurate numbers. It makes sense as we know these numbers as a whole are not accurate….which I believe is by design
From March 3 to March 24. 15 in-school days.
3/03-3/9 1,345. 372
3/09-3/16 1,597 425
3/17-3/24 1,993 601
Totals. 4,935 1,398
Overall student and staff total 6,333
I would be curious if there is a direct correlation to school cases and mandatory/optional mask wearing.
I have no doubt that there is a correlation between switching to home tests so that numbers are not true and mask wearing
I’m not sure of the answer to your question. It seems numbers are going down in most if not all other areas yet creeping up in school. It is just three weeks, so I don’t think long enough yet. I’m not sure how long before something is considered a trend. Joshua??
UK numbers are worsening. Gives pause. How the U.S. avoids this, I really don’t know. A miracle perhaps. https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1507399172802052100
Are you still in the UK?
No. I returned Tuesday.
Somehow I avoided getting infected (my BA.1 infection helped, as well as my being triple-vaxxed). I was quite careful. But, with 1 in 16 Brits currently infected – that’s an ONS estimate – I had to be in close contact with people with Covid throughout my trip. Every place I went was packed this time – from the Underground Tube (their T system) to restaurants to a museum I went to.
The bad news from the UK is that hospital admissions are rising so fast; a further 20% this week. Two groups are being disproportionately impacted by hospital admissions: >75 (must be due to waning immunity) and the 0 to 5 group (unvaccinated). There are relatively few children in hospital, of course. But, the increase in pediatric admissions is steep.
Here’s a tweet about the UK. The picture from the Tube is representative in terms of public transportation being mobbed. It was packed at all times of the day. One thing that isn’t representative is the mask-wearing in this photo. There were very few masks being worn on the Tube while I was there. https://twitter.com/CMichaelGibson/status/1507421447425245198
It will be interesting if the airlines convince Biden to lift mask mandates as they are set to expire next month on the 18th. I believe the airlines want it lifted asap.
Joshua, are the airline mask mandates only in effect for flights to and from the U.S.?
Btw Joshua, how is your daughter doing health wise? Any more side effects from her bout with Covid?
My daughter and boyfriend appear to be doing fine post Covid. Thanks for asking.
Some airlines in Europe have abandoned mandatory masking. You can see the differences at Heathrow in London, where some of the lines of passengers had few masks, while others were all masked.
I think the airline executives want the mask mandates lifted. Yes. But, certainly not all flight attendants. I spoke to 3 flight attendants during my flights about the mask mandates. Two want the mandates to remain; one wanted the mandate to be dropped. It’s obviously a very small sample. But, my guess is there’s no consensus around masking among flight attendants. And, they’re the ones who are the most at risk. Bear in mind, U.S. flight attendants tend to be older than flight attendants in other countries. [I find this refreshing, by the way. Flight crews on many non U.S. airlines tend to look like a bygone era – 1960s! – in which stewardesses were all young and looked a certain way. As recently as a few years ago, Icelandair was openly discriminatory against older (>35!) aspiring flight attendants – https://icelandmag.is/article/age-restrictions-new-icelandair-flight-attendants-criticized%5D
I must subscribe in order to read the article. Too bad as I was interested in the age discrimination on “older” flight attendants. Oh well.
Joshua. as for the airline execs wanting masks removed, are there fewer passengers these days due to the mandate? I never thought about lost revenue.
Not sure you saw my links yesterday Philip re the airlines. I’ll past below.
It was extended because the flight attendant Union (Delta is not unionized) were upset if he mandate was being lifted. As they should be. They were not only concerned about crew cut about at risk passengers, including young children.
Who do we think has the bottom line in mind and who do we think has the paying customers in mind? Shame on Biden if he not only doesn’t lift it but if he doesn’t extend it yet again
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-airline-ceos-call-biden-lift-mask-mandate/story?id=83631435
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-nyt-flight-attendants-mask-mandate-20220223-ksrf66revjdvjdlpghs5576pte-story.html
Read your post the other day. Thank for your re-posting the links.
I flew Delta, by the way, and so I spoke with 3 Delta flight attendants.
Philip, the gist of the article is that in 2015 Icelandair posted jobs for flight attendants with an age restriction for applicants: 35! I am sure this would violate laws here in the U.S., as it should. In my many years of flying, I’ve noticed that flight attendants in the U.S. look a LOT more like us all than in many other countries, where the Barbie Doll – whether Barbie or Ken – is still often the norm. Similarly, our news anchors and TV journalists and personalities tend to be more like us all than news anchors and TV journalists/personalities overseas. I really like this about America. Yes, there is often a favored look, on local TV, especially. But, it’s not to the degree I’ve seen in many overseas markets.
Darn. I wish I’d known you were flying delta. As you know Mac’s sister flew delta from 1991 until 2019. Internationally at first. I always ask folks who fly delta to see if the attendants knew her. Prior, she flew Pam Am from 1969 until it stopped operating in 1991. She flew to London on Pan Am 103 and was bumped for the return trip which of course tragically went down over Lockerbie. The airlines loved that she spoke six languages so chose her for their international team
Good article on Covid-19, a man’s death in January at the age of 70, and the predicament many in the black community face: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-03-25/the-way-we-lose-black-men-in-america-never-makes-sense-losing-my-father-to-covid-19-doesnt-help
Excellent article Joshua! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
3-26 C-19 ready.