Thread by @HuffmanLabDU

So glad to see growing national push to #EatOutside & increase #school lunch safety. Anytime masks come off indoors, COVID risk increases.

@HeidiNBC 👇: "Does this cost money?"
Principal: “Money?! No, we just used our brains!”

Full 🧵 of links & info. #DrFauci up next ... (1/x)

https://twitter.com/NBCNewsNow/status/1435931893090988038

2/ Parents here realized that if adults need to be very careful w/ indoor dining when masks are off, so do school kids during lunch.
@HeidiNBC: "Here's what they do. It's not hard. They open these doors, the kids come out."

h/t @SmartRestartAPS

https://twitter.com/NBCNewsNow/status/1435931893090988038

3/ #DrFauci today" "You have pretty good prevention measures at the time you’re in the class or working, and then you let your guard down when you get a lunchbreak and you take your mask off, b/c you have to take your mask off to eat."

4/ @apoorva_nyc: "Would it help if the kids ate lunch outside ...? How important is ventilation?"
#DrFauci: "Oh, it’s critical, it’s critical."
"You could be outside eating your lunch in school into November. ... that would be great."

5/ Like I said, glad the issue of indoor school lunch risk is gaining attention. Here is what I said a couple weeks ago at a #DeltaSchoolsAirborne event.
Video clip:

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1429482861057384449

6/ Indoor lunch is a high risk b/c:
☑️ COVID is largely airborne
☑️ Masks are off (no source or inhalation reduction)
☑️ Kids often packed closely
☑️ Many kids in one room
☑️ Kids louder at lunch (so more aerosol released ⬇️)
e.g. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
nature.com/articles/s4159…

7/ Eating indoors when masks are off is dangerous, because you can breath more respiratory aerosols for two reasons:

1⃣ Within the first few feet of someone you breathe air directly from their exhalation, before it dilutes
➕
2⃣ Aerosols also build-up in weakly ventilated spaces

8/ Schools simply must be careful this year, b/c the Delta variant is more transmissible & kids are getting sick around the country at higher rates than ever.

Peruse any part of this #DeltaSchoolsAirborne event for more info:

https://twitter.com/joaquinlife/status/1430225637302669312

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1428388716435836934

9/ This is why it is so important to eat outdoors & treat indoor meal spaces very carefully.
I emphasized this is as one of three key focus-points for schools in a recent OpEd in the @denverpost.
denverpost.com/2021/08/19/sch…

10/ And I keep trying to emphasize the additional risks indoor at lunch or anytime masks come off, like in these recent articles:

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1435349690359238661

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1435627864028696579

11/ I'm glad that @CPRBrundin, in a recent article, included the query about lunch procedures as one of six key questions to ask the school when kids return:
cpr.org/2021/08/27/col…

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1431294865250287617

12/ Of course many others have been emphasizing the school lunch COVID risk as well, e.g. @linseymarr here. Others like @kprather88, @Poppendieck, @CorsIAQ @DavidElfstrom @MarcelHarmon1 & others have frequently pushed for outdoor, ventilated school meals.

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1435028490768687112

13/ @DrEricDing has been trying to raise further awareness about the risks of eating indoors at school for a long time:

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1364092875873673217

14/ CDC talks about this on one page of guidance, but needs more emphasis on lunchtime risk.

"Eating meals outside is best. If you need to have students eat in a cafeteria, use methods such as opening windows, maximizing filtration ... HEPA air cleaners."
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

15/ Having all school students eat outdoors isn't always simple. There are real challenges (safety, pollution, staffing, weather). But whether or not it is easy to #EatOutside does not make the risk less to eat indoors (i.e. w/o masks). Do what you can to be as safe as possible.

16/ If anyone at a school will be eating indoors, all airborne precautions need to be much better. Make sure air is frequently cleaned via good ventilation & room filtration. Make sure good policies are in place, limit time & keep masks on in-line.
➕👇

https://twitter.com/HuffmanLabDU/status/1429481913153060867

17/ This resource by @livingschoolyrd as a part of the #greenschoolyard movement helps put some additional thoughts around the topic to help encourage students & school staff to #EatOutside.
greenschoolyards.org/meals-outdoors

18/ Everyone is bone-tired, incl. parents, teachers, principals, & school district leaders. None of us want to adjust any further. But indoor risk at lunch is high and we must still be vigilant. Press (respectfully) your district to #EatOutside & take action in indoor meal areas.

19/ When you reach out to your school officials, do what you can to get the bottom of the real issue. It doesn't help to talk past each other with excuses. Ask for the real reason kids can't eat outside & work with your parents/teachers organization to brainstorm safe solutions.

20/ It's also important not to let yourself be bogged down by not having answers to every scenario. Right now the focus should be on protecting students, especially unvaxxed kids <12 yrs. Prioritize the fall to limit cases now. Add details & worry about the future as it unfolds.