We were just informed of this article titled “Our children are at grave risk of COVID as State puts profit ahead of public health,” written by Irish journalist Tess Finch-Lees at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately it is behind a paywall. Doubly unfortunate is that pleas to protect children in schools continue to be ignored. In it she says:
“I’ve been scouring the web to see if any school has managed to prevent outbreaks. I found one – Abrome, in Texas. How did it do it? By ignoring politicians and following the science.
“Acknowledging Covid is airborne, mitigations included daily testing, mandatory FFP2/3 masks indoors and outdoors in close contact during surges, distancing, remote learning when cases were extremely high, outdoor learning options, and Hepa filtration in every classroom. If CO2 readings exceeded 800, rooms were evacuated and classes continued in sheltered outdoor spaces, also used for eating. Everyone is vaccinated.
“Abrome’s ethos is that of inclusion. A Covid-safe school is accessible to everyone. The sense of collective compassion over mé féinism.
“In the same way I would challenge institutional racism, I won’t participate in a system that discriminates against disabled, clinically vulnerable children and those with clinically vulnerable family.”
1. we appreciate that some folks recognize that in a landscape where an extremely tiny minority of institutions are protecting people from COVID transmission, that Abrome’s COVID protocols provide an accessible alternative to school for those who are at risk of serious illness from COVID (although it should be noted that everyone is potentially at risk).
2. the sense of collective compassion over mé féinism extends beyond the walls of Abrome. We are members of adjacent and broader communities and we recognize our responsibility to not do harm to those communities.
3. we agree that people should seriously interrogate their participation in oppressive institutions.
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Featured image by cartoonist Graeme Keyes from the online article.