I think I’m going to take a minute to explain the difficult decision I have made to choose virtual schooling for my child.

I have been working full time as an NP while caring for a child full time and in the process also trying to keep spirits up while I’m tired and telling my child not to hug me until my scrubs have been removed and telling her 100 times a day to practice her clarinet and do her algebra I have assigned and get off her electronics and on my days off while I’m worn out cleaning disinfecting and trying to take my kid out for some entertainment ( yes there is not punctuation purposefully to represent my lack of breath) .

I see Covid. I take care of people with Covid. I know what Covid is. I read research daily. Not videos by crack pots or media news articles but actual scientific journals, an average of 20 articles a day. I discuss these issues daily with people that have greater qualifications than I have PhD in statistics, PhD in cell biology, PhD in psychology (for those mental health issues), Medical Degrees etc .

While my county argues the effectiveness of masks, I am reading the details of pediatric Covid (multi system inflammatory disorder who is at risk, what it looks like what are the interventions, what are the best pharmaceutical interventions for the management of outpatient pediatric Covid , what are the indications for the need for admission ) because you see nobody has dealt with pediatric Covid before Wuhan ‘s outbreak of Covid . There is no certainty and there are no black and white answers but I expect that I will see an increase of these cases and I prepare to have the best knowledge at hand.
I know that the county I live in has seen an increase of 120 cases in eight days. That is not safe. That is neither a stable number nor a decreasing number nor does it fit the recommended infection rate below 5%.

Let me tell you also that I wanted nothing more than to see my child back in school. For her socialization, for her education (although I’m fortunate enough to be able to provide most of it myself but I’m tired of arguing with a child about doing her algebra and trust me it’s tiring after you have worked a 12 hour shift or more back to back while worrying about keeping people alive), for a break, for a desire of a return to normalcy but it is not safe. Not when there have been 120 rolling cases in eight days.

Checking temps on a daily might give you a sense of security but Covid does not always have a fever. Distance in overcrowded schools? Not mandating masks? And how many hours will teachers be involved in infection control rather than education? Infection control of a virus that is new?
You see you can deny that Covid exists , you can argue if masks work or don’t but in the meantime ( and the stats are probably not yet updated and underrepresented as we have not focused on testing children ) there are almost 16,000 kids that have been infected with Covid in TN and that is with schools not reopened . Four have died. Not a big number until it is yours or mine. We don’t know the long term effects of a Covid infection. It’s been around seven months. We are beginning to read of some of the effects.

Please for the love of God just wear a mask. It’s not that difficult. It’s not a political issue. I personally could care less if the virus that infects you is in a Republican body or a Democrat body, I will still take care of you like you are my family and so will all my colleagues in healthcare . For the love of God stop whining about these masks and making a million excuses that can be debunked by the simple fact that healthcare workers wear masks that are way more uncomfortable all day long or that children in war torn zones wear masks to protect from chemical warfare. How about this: If all us mask people are wrong, the worse that has happened is you wore a mask. If we are right though , you by not wearing a mask are helping increase the infection rate in our community that will eventually lead to a non-sustainable condition and exactly what you do not want : school shut downs, economic lockdown and deaths . 

Gianna Owens

Smithville, TN