I suspect that they can have an online lecture with unlimited attendance, but smaller in-person study groups. This frees up lecture room space to have in-person lectures for smaller classes with social distancing, plus it protects some of the professors from in-person contact with large groups of students.
We will see what happens with the Kawasaki syndrome over the summer. From the TWIV (This Week in Virology) podcast I listen to, it hits 4 weeks after one is positive for covid, even if the person hadnt come down with the typical syptoms. Even happens to people who were asymptomatic. TWIV reports there are over 100 cases of this syndrome in the tri state area.
I don’t understand your point. This is younger kids, right, not college age. How is Kawasaki syndrome going to affect campus openings?
Yes…being quarantined to the “covid dorm” or the “I was exposed” dorm, or being assigned to a floor or single room for those with pre-existing conditions …might make students feel as though they have a “Scarlet A” on their chest, but what is the alternative?
100% remote learning? Many don’t want that, some will choose it.
100% back to normal? No, that won’t work. We have to adapt to a new normal. There is no choice.
Schools can only open if they have a plan in place, and like most things…not everybody will be pleased with the plan.
If this is Columbia, I’m not surprised. Columbia doesn’t seem to release much information publicly but it should be expected to have by far the most cases among the Ivies. Some colleges release more detailed information including breakdowns of results between on-campus and off-site tests.
So if kids who live off campus test positive, they’ll have to be quarantined. Is there a way to enforce that? Wouldn’t they just quarantine in their apartment? No idea how that works.
It might not be a “Scarlet A” though. Instead it might be seen a a “Scarlet S” for superman.
Except that it’s not just young kids, it’s young adults too.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/21/misc-c-kawasaki-coronavirus-young-adults/
UNC offers on campus housing for all 4 years for those who want it. Students who test positive would go to a dorm designated for students who test positive. The same is true for students who were exposed. Students who choose to live off campus would quarantine in their apartment…I assume.
I have no idea how all of this would be enforced. Virtual learning is available for anybody who wants it.
Well, I think @silverpurple has a point. To the extent that sentiment is driving people’s attitudes toward reopening different things, we’ve seen volatile swings back and forth all spring. Adding babies to the list of vulnerables would be a “game-changer”.
My opinion is that all this testing that some people are insisting must happen, is not going to happen. I keep reading these statements that this must happen and that must happen and I just shake my head. People keep talking in absolutes and I really think many of you are just wrong. I think the testing capacity just doesn’t exist. I think the dorm capacity doesn’t exist. Yes you can test everyone once as they arrive back on campus, but then I think it will only happen if someone has symptoms, or has very close contact with people with symptoms. Quarantine asymptomatic people until they test negative? They aren’t even doing that off campuses. Most likely the asymptomatic people are never going to get tested.
^^ And they get it worse than children, as well. From the same article:
"But teens and young adults have more of an “overwhelming” response involving the heart and multiple organs.
“The older ones have had a more severe course,” Lighter said.’
@me29034, I take it you belong to the “Let the colleges acquire herd immunity” camp. But, is that practical? What if the university is in a big city?
It’s so rare that I hardly think it would make anyone blink.
Maybe maybe not. I find it curious that countries in Europe that were the first to see large numbers of infections never mentioned it. The chances that there were no cases there is unlikely. It’s more likely that the cases were missed. Also
You can’t report what you don’t know.
Agree, this kawasski syndrome is less than a blip. Not going to change a thing.
And I agree with some posters above, it’s unlikely college age kids are going to “self quarantine”
Colleges need to open. They need the ?. They’ll adjust as much as possible but won’t be able to make everyone happy or keep them safe. At this point, if your kid is off to college it’s a crapshoot.
I fully expect my kids will be exposed at their college and HS, as will DH and I. While I hope there will ultimately be a vaccine, we won’t stay inside until then.
“the estimated that mass testing would cost about $25 million a week.”
No way the CSUs could afford this, they have to be concerned with 450,000 students, about half on pell grants, it’s not like a 2,000 person college with the average family wealth being $300,000.
“Agree, especially at the Power 5 conferences. If students are back on campus, football will definitely be back (minus the fans). They generate too much revenue to the universities to not play this fall.”
This came up in the college football thread but the athletic revenue for schools that have graduate programs, especially med schools, is insignificant. Michigan total revenue is around $9B, half comes from their healthcare system, so the athletic revenue of $120m is not going to keep anyone up at night. The h/c along with the investment revenue of $1.2B is probably of concern during these times. Yes football is part of UM’s culture, revenue wise, healthcare is king, not even a close second.
I think the big city is why you can’t do this. If you have a large school in a big city, students are everywhere. Many don’t live on campus. Many have interactions every day with people that aren’t part of the campus community. I think enforcing initial testing is going to be difficult enough, but further testing and quarantining is practically impossible. I guess you can tell an off campus student that if they don’t report for testing as requested, their registration will be cancelled. I think that’s the only hook you have. If they test positive and live off campus, who enforces the quarantine? I just see too many logistical issues with all this testing that everyone keeps posting about.
I don’t disagree that we are a long way from being able to properly test, trace and isolate.
But that concept is far broader than just at the college level…those capabilities are necessary for any state or city to be able to ‘open’ up.