The Texas allopathic medical school I work for= instate tuition/fees is 18,808 per year
So people who have done everything asked of them and social distanced very early and then are more likely to not have the antibodies, will have to social distance until there’s a vaccine? Again, I don’t think that works. Something sounds really bad about that. People’s financial security will be based on whether they have an antibody??
If a residential college reopens and allows its students to live in its crowded dorms, it’s unlikely to practice social distancing in its classrooms. The reason for not allowing large lectures, at least for the time being, is to reduce the possibility of a large outbreak, potentially brought by someone (e.g. the lecturer) who doesn’t live on campus.
For colleges with a significant number of students living off-campus, it’s more complicated. For this reason, new students may want take this factor into consideration.
Positive antibodies could also mean a current infection that has not yet been cleared.
Catching up with about five pages of speculation . . .
Here’s my two cents: there is way too much information we don’t know today, but may well know in the next couple of months:
-antibody test, as lots of people have mentioned, and its significance
-an effective treatment. This will be a gamechanger, if the illness does not become life threatening, and does become more like the regular flu
- vaccine - yes, this is not going to happen before the fall
- another preventative? Preventative antibody-rich plasma?
If any of these things happens they will dramatically affect the course of events. But – today, we just don’t know which if any will happen.
Depends on the test. The desired test is the one that is not positive for a current infection.
Big lecture halls usually have a greater distance between the lecturer and the students than smaller classrooms, but the student seating is commonly closer together. So an outbreak associated with a big lecture would be more likely to come from a student, or a visitor sitting in on the lecture.
But then if a student is the source of an outbreak, s/he could infect every class s/he attends over a week or so before becoming symptomatic (if s/he does become symptomatic). Then the other students in those classes could be asymptomatic spreaders for the next week, etc…
Since most college students are commuters attending colleges local to where they lived before college, what commuter-based colleges do will be what affects most college students, faculty, and staff.
^I certainly think it makes sense to put classes in larger rooms, at least to increase the distance between the lecturer and students, if possible. For residential colleges where all students live on campus and have been tested, that might be sufficient.
For commuter-based colleges, students are primarily local so the local condition with respect to the spread of the virus will determine their policies.
Syracuse tonight said their plans are to be open with kids in dorms in late Aug, I do not see it but that is what they said on the parent admission, would not even address about tuition reduction if online in the fall, they did say students could defer a semester by paying their deposit, they would be allowed to take 2 classes at a CC but Cuse would not guarantee they would get credit unless approved in advance.
Add another group. Those that were infected, recovered, and show no antibodies. Worst case scenario. It would render antibody tests meaningless and vaccine development very difficult.
Seems sensible. Schools will reopen, the same way offices and factories will reopen, and public transportation will be used again. A smaller number of outbreaks will continue to occur for the foreseeable future absent a vaccine, but we will find a way to work around the outbreaks. Those at highest risk or unwilling/unable to take the risks will make other arrangements for schooling or work.
Many posters are commenting about how to social distance if the kids go back in the fall but I think, if social distancing is still a thing in August, then we won’t be sending kids back to school. From everything I’ve read, we aren’t looking to do this all through the summer. The longest timeline I’ve seen includes social distancing through May and then little by little getting back to more “normal” living. If college is on campus in the fall, I’m sure there will be some changes but I don’t see six-feet social distancing being one of those things. It couldn’t be enforced.
How do you social distance in a double ? Dorm rooms are on the small size to begin with? Agree with post 231 by @homerdog , if social distancing is on the table dorms are off the table.
Public transportation isn’t being used?
So my daughter’s college, Beloit is discussing something like maybe doing just 2 classes online for the start of fall but at double the speed for 1/2 semester (yes just 2 classes) then come to school live for the other half of the semester for 2 classes. Spring is normal.
I think this is a interesting way of doing it.
It hasn’t been proven definitively yet that antibodies = immunity (and for how long). Hopefully that is the case, but there have been cases reported in other countries where people have gotten COVID-19 more than once (became ill, tested positive, recovered, tested negative, then became ill again and tested positive again).
Mass transit (whether bus, train, or airplane) probably has much lower passenger loads now than before. Passengers can easily stay away from each other, although they may be concerned about virus transmission through surfaces touched by someone previously.
Let’s say school starts in the fall. Does anyone see college football happening in August? Put a 100k people close together on campus People traveling to games from out of state.
Maybe people on CC aren’t using public transportation, but I can assure you people are riding trains and buses. Of course ridership is down, but that’s more a function of people out of work than fears of being infected by Covid-19.
Fauci announced that his cautious prediction is that kids could return to school in the fall. He is generally reliable, though it also depends on how reliable the data he gets are.