This makes me so mad. Sure, you have to go to school in person in cherokee county. But every single person here made the choice to not wear a mask, which puts way more people than are in this photo at risk. And I’m sure every other high school in the county looked the same today. https://twitter.com/gafollowers/status/1290437298685968385

From initial research, 5 minutes of conversation without a mask is enough to spread COVID. If the infected person coughs/sneezes, the time required to spread it is practically instant. Wearing masks + social distancing greatly reduces the risk in both scenarios.

It would be wonderful if more people chose online class, but I’m not going to be ignorant to the fact that many families are not priveleged enough for that to be a viable option unless required. As such, I’m giving the people in this photo the benefit of the doubt.

And because I love a good data model: Cherokee county & GA are currently moderate-high risk, especially compared to other regions. There’s a 74% chance of at least one person in a group of 50 being positive for COVID.

In conclusion, Cherokee county needs to more strictly implement safe practices (masks + social distancing at ALL TIMES) or switch to 100% online learning. Keep reading this thread for links to sources for my tweets above...

The interactive map: https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu 

Spreading COVID in various social situations: https://www.erinbromage.com/post/the-risks-know-them-avoid-them

If you want to learn more about the research behind the efficacy of masks, I suggest starting with @WHO or @CDCgov