We have a few current parents on this page @hpcsa and @CCSavant at a minimum. I would be interested in your opinion on how ND is handling the COVID stuff. The ND thread has been a little too quiet lately.
Personally, I am pleased with the effort the school is making to establish “how to do school with COVID” assuming that it will be with us for some time. I am glad to see my DS '22 back in the dorm with the guys. He definitely needed that community. I realize there will be obstacles to overcome. I am hoping that perseverance will pay off.
We are quite close to the situation, final outcome yet uncertain - all depending on students’ commitment and follow through. Yesterday’s count: Zero positive cases from surveillance testing (out of 442 tests), 30 positive cases from diagnostic testing out of 241 tests (12.5%), 683 tests in total.
Close family member is a new transfer student at ND. The school is trying very hard to get this under control, but I am not very optimistic. Even if they get the cases down below 20 per day, I think they will be dealing with smoldering transmission of virus until the majority of the students (and unfortunately the staff) have been exposed. My student is not happy with the current situation of being locked down - feels caged. Definitely not a party goer, but wants to go to class , go to the gym, and have dinner with new acquaintances. For freshmen and transfers, this situation is very difficult. The “snitching” on each other is not the best thing for building community, but perhaps needs to happen. I feel as though many colleges are living in the past in that they feel they can be business as usual, although this situation is anything but. I am also concerned with the mentality that college students recover from this virus. Yes, perhaps they do, but we don’t know enough to really say that yet. Viruses can act as triggers to many undesirable conditions, and we won’t know the outcome of how this virus has affected those infected for quite some time. Lastly, I do feel ND should give the students a choice to ZOOM from home if they so choose. I can’t imagine the uproar if they continue with this lockdown without that. It’s a wonderful school and I am impressed with their efforts, but the current lockdown situation is unsustainable long term. How will they deal with this once the weather cools and everyone is indoors!
@MsGamora - I agree that the current situation is not sustainable for the entire semester. I would be surprised if ND continues with the same plan if they determine in person classes are not feasible. My guess is they will send everyone home if they deem it the prudent action.
The numbers are improving every day. Only 13 new cases today. The overall positive case rate has declined from 20% at its peak last week to about 11% as of today.
The “community” aspect of Notre Dame is incredible and an important part of what makes Notre Dame special. It stinks that it is starting off this way. I am hoping more interaction will be allowed in the coming weeks.
My DS is a junior. Even locked away in his room, he would much rather be there than at home. For how long? Nobody knows.
So…I think that ND and the students are going to make it through the semester on campus. ND was very well prepared in all ways except…being able to test EVERYONE at least once a week. A party or two is, unfortunately, going to happen. Most of the postive tests can be attributed to these initial transmissions. Over time, these initial infections will die out IF the students can improve their behavior AND if ND can capture the random positives (no symptoms, no contact tracing) through regular testing of all students. It is one thing to have a statistical perspective of what the underlying infection rate might be. It is completely another thing to be able to aggressively address those individuals before further spread occurs. My son says that the mood on campus has improved substantially. The students want to make this work. Certainly the administration does, and teachers have come in articles in the student newspaper supporting having the kids on campus. There will continue to be a few Covid cases every week for the duration of the semester. These new cases have falled dramatically over the past week…but there will be a steady state of infection to work to control. Absent a major outbreak, the University appears to have sufficient quarantine resources to handle a regular, but more limited, demand by the virus.
Even with all of the current restrictions, most students feel that being on campus is absolutely preferable to being at home - even if the coursework vacillates between in-person and virtual classes. I applaud Notre Dame administrators for standing behind their vision of a Notre Dame education - which is as much or more outside of the classroom as in the classroom. A shared campus experience, even with masks, is essential in their view. They are bold to be standing behind what they preach, in the face of what many other schools have opted to do (ND is one of only three top 20 schools to welcome back ALL students).
To the best of my personal and statistical knowledge, the cases at ND have been largely without major symptoms - and certainly zero hospitalizations. The virus will be with us for a while…and the students only get four years of college.
While it does not take much in the way of bad behavior to undo the progress that has been made, I would not bet against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on something that matters this much to the students, the administration and the faculty.
My son is studying hard, and behaving appropriately. He has decided to take up golf and played today with four of his friends (social distancing and with masks). He has made his room nicer than the past two years because he is spending more time there - studying and just hanging out. He is calling home more, but not at all depressed. Just have some personal time available. His job at Joyce is furloughed for the moment, but may pick up next week.
This semester (and more to come unfortunately) will definitely require personal adjustments. But focus on the bright side and move ahead. And work to preserve what you love. GO IRISH!
@CCSavant - My son is in a similar place, initially bummed that it went bad so fast, but now feeling more optimistic about making it to Thanksgiving on campus.
I am not sure testing everyone weekly is the answer. They have started random surveillance testing. 21 total cases (10 of those are Football players I think). Even at 21, the positive test rate is just under 1%. If the “less severe” illness holds, then it should be manageable.
I have heard many calls for “test everyone” at a number of schools. I am not a medical or epidemiology expert, so this is just my opinion. The experts advising Notre Dame feel the surveillance plan is sufficient. The statistics behind the methodology can provide a fairly accurate picture of how the virus is spreading without the “test everyone” method. If you test everyone, each test cost money and it ties up lab resources that could be used by others. If you are going to get 99% negatives, is that worth it?
Yes. Absolutely. The surveillance plan is certainly sufficient to identify how much virus is on campus. Pre-matriculation testing identified 33 kids. If the current surveillance testing positivity falls to, say, .75% (just under 1%), that would suggest AT THAT MOMENT there are about 60 undergraduates who are infected (apart from those with symptoms and those who have been identified through contact tracing). Without knowing who those 60 are, the numbers can grow exponentially. Half have roomates - add 30 more cases. One quarter live in a quad - add 45 more cases. They all have friends. Pretty soon hundreds of kids could be infected before the surveillance testing fully reveals the uptick given the normal day to day variations. Some universities with less resources than Notre Dame are testing up to twice a week. Perhaps that is overkill. But maybe this is a situation that benefits from overkill. The goal should be to identify every case - even if that seems “inefficient”.
I suspect that given the current testing abilities that Notre Dame has, they may be resource constrained in testing everyone. So they are doing their best. But hopefully those constraints will ease over time with new tests and more testing resources.
I have no doubt that Notre Dame can manage a limited about of Covid prevailing on campus. But less is better in this game.
I have an off campus senior who indicated that not once did he feel unsafe by the classroom protocol that ND has in place. The large gatherings have been the primary culprit. If students take this serious and follow the less than 10 rule, wear their mask and social distance, and if we can get past the spread from prior weeks contacts, I’m optimistic we can stay on campus.
Things have improved significantly on campus. My son is back in all of his classes now. Four out of his five classes are in person. Last night he hung out at Library Lawn, which is an amazing transformation of a campus green to resort, with seating areas including fire pits, umbrellas, lawn games, entertainment, and more. After that he headed to the stadium to watch a movie and after he movie there were fireworks. ND is doing an excellent job of giving students incentive to avoid those off campus parties.
I realize we are still in the fall semester, but does anyone have thoughts on how the spring semester may unfold? ND has the ability to have students outside for meals etc. at this point, but how do we do this in the dead of winter? So glad they were able to get cases under control.
@MsGamora - I have had the same thought. We will get a preview in November most likely. The tents on campus have walls, so they may be able to add heat if needed.