If people in k-12 become infected they will shut down immediately. And…opening up schools is a tremendous undertaking and will not be “business as usual” in the fall.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Please stick to the topic. General COVID-19 posts can go in the other thread. Thank you.
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“So how is a university going to make it “work” when kids live off campus? I don’t even know what that means. They will control their campus and the kids will do what they will off campus.” The problem is that what the kids do off campus is going to make the virus spread on campus, through classes, labs, small groups, and even if classes go completely online, dorms and dining halls for the kids that stay. It’s not like the virus stops at the campus borders.
“Living off campus in a rural college town looks very different than living off campus in a city.” My d’s school I mentioned above, with the 5 infected students from the moving out parties last week, is located in one of the most rural college towns I know. Not sure being rural makes much difference - it only takes 1 infected kid at 1 largish party and before you know it, half the campus is exposed. And rural towns don’t have the medical facilities that cities do, so you could argue they are less equipped to handle the inevitable cases.
I want my d to go back to school and have a normal college experience as much as anyone here, but I just don’t see how it’s going to be possible. I really don’t.
And say what you will about the odds being small and most kids barely getting sick…the fact is that a small percentage of college-age kids will get sick and a percentage of those will die. It may not be your kid, or my kid, but it will be someone’s kid. And that thought terrifies me.
Are you equally worried about influenza, since that has a higher fatality rate for this age group? Or alcohol/drug overdoses, suicide, or sexual assault, which are far more likely on campus?
How many times do we have to point out how Covid is NOT like the flu?
Every example you have just cited is false equivalency.
Please. You’re not talking to 5 year olds.
You are right, for those under 20, flu is more deadly. For those who care about science and data, that matters.
Good thing there’s a vaccine for it.
As opposed to that MUCH MORE DEADLY and MORE INFECTIOUS Covid-19.
For those who care about science and data that matters.
Now, explain to me how science and data have led you to equate Covid with the flu, overdoses and sexual assault.
Parents on this board are extremely concerned about alcohol/drug abuse, suicide, sexual assault. In my years reading CC, I’ve seen mega threads on all those topics, and they have been extremely educational. As is this thread.
Off campus students are just like all the key workers who have been commuting to their jobs from a home maybe a couple of hours away. Face masks, hand washing and social distancing will mitigate the risk.
I heard Andrew Cuomo say that front line emergency staff have lower infection rates than the general population despite working directly with Covid positive patients. That’s due to PPE and their militant hygiene habits.
Those of you who are so scared? I hope you are keeping your kids home. That’s the right decision for you. 0.04% of people under 49 die of this virus. That’s 4/10,000. And it’s likely at least some of those four have underlying conditions and/or are not under 25. I have quite a few doctor friends - family medicine, specialists, surgeons. They are concerned about themselves on the front line and their older patients. Every single one is ok sending their kids back to college.
I’m a worrier. I worry about lots of things for my son. Many terrible things could happen to him. And in fact, in the university across the street from his college, a student died of covid.
But I agree with @roycroftmom that we should, as it were, worry about something in proportion to its likelihood as well as its severity. My son (who is older than most if not all of the other college students whose parents populate this thread) could die of covid, but that is extremely unlikely. I’m more concerned about an outbreak at his college resulting in deaths and hospitalizations of other members of the college community and the city it’s in.
This will not be a normal college experience starting in August. Many or most colleges will open up however and try and get as close as possible to something many students and parents want.
The good news is that there is choice. Parents and students can continue their education at these institutions remotely. No one will force you or child to be put in potential danger that you are not comfortable with. All involved are faced with the same risks and unknowns and can weigh against their personal situation and beliefs. Hopefully personal choice about attending in person on campus under the ‘new normal’ will be what happens here. If a section of parents or students are concerned about the risks or opposed to re-opening should not close campuses. They will have options.
one infected kid and half the college is exposed! Wow1 Where did you come up with that?
The virus will move through campuses. Different campuses at different rates. I saw ND’s president last night on CNN and he said that they have not decided what the breaking point would be for having to shut down school again and send kids home. The public health officials he’s spoken to have said that is VERY unlikely.
Because I’m an extreme worrier, I’m worried about the guilt some young people will feel, for having spread it to others in higher risk groups in their communities.
I also think, as a society, we are going to have to decide the number of deaths we’re comfortable with and say it out loud repeatedly, for the long term benefit of our kids. I don’t want them to be carrying a guilt burden.
Already addressing this with my own adult offspring.
Agree…checked with a few Docs in / out of the family. 100% of them said ‘green light’ to sending them back. One in particular has alot of weight as the students are his grandchildren. One very unfortunate outcome of COVID-19 is that it has literally scared the hell out of people.
@alh Oh gosh. I’m not going to keep repeating death numbers “I"m comfortable with” with our kids. You think that’s a good idea? Everyone needs to understand enough about what’s going on. Try to take politics out of it and make the most of this time. Talking about death rates “repeatedly” is a good recipe for teenage depression if you ask me.
S19 understands his responsibility now and when he returns to campus he will find out what his college expects of him. We talk to him about the risks and he knows the limitations put on us here in Illinois. In the meantime, he’s trying to live his life - seeing friends at a distance, working, playing tennis with his sister, running with his high school XC buddies and I hope he’s not thinking a lot about death. And I certainly hope, when he’s back on campus, he will enjoy his friends responsibly and do good work in his classes.
Likely we will be sending our kid across country next fall to attend college but I do worry that there is so much we don’t know about CV-19. For example. does having had the virus and having antibodies mean that you are now immune? And if so, for how long? What therapeutics drugs and treatments will be available in 3 months if my kid gets sick? If she is sick, how will the college take.care of her, if at all? What’s her experience going to be like on campus, will she be fearful each and every day?
These are the unknowns about CV-19 that concern me and my family…
Also, maybe I’m a complete idiot but i have no idea how the risk of sexual assault on a college campus has anything to due with mitigating the spread of a virus that can easily jump from host to host causing physical sickness and even death for which we have no vaccine to control it.
Everyone’s talking about their fears for their kids, but the people who are really at risk are the adults teaching them in-person at schools. The administration and faculty understandably don’t want to put their lives on the line to do in-person classes, or meet face to face with many students.
I agree. And if there’s a spike – on campus or in surrounding areas, the virus spread by asymptomatic kids – schools may close again even though not a single student got sick.