Just reading up on the link. One emergency room visit, no hospitalisations.
@Tigerle - Guten Tag. Thank you for taking the time to look it up. It is a frustrating time. I compare it to the story of the two hair stylists that went to work with COVID symptoms. They wore masks and the ~150 clients they saw also wore masks. Guess how many positive cases - 2 - the hair stylists. When someone advocates for reopening schools, the Israeli school example has been the counter argument. One kid went to the ER, no hospitalizations. Yup, keep them closed “based on the evidence”
Elon starts classes on 8/19. Freshman move in starts 8/15. Regular housing in doubles and hybrid classes.
I’m very skeptical they will be able to pull it off.
The evidence in this case is 260 people known to have been infected, including many adults. If we get big outbreaks like this, we will get hospitalizations.
The lesson here is that if infected students go to an overcrowded school without masks, they will cause a big outbreak, and it won’t be confined to young people who are at low risk of complications. There were 185 people at the school who were infected, and another 85 people (that they know about, there could be more) outside the school.
I’d be grateful if everyone here who advocates school reopening would stop presenting the issue in terms of the risk to students. Young people are at low risk for complications and death. We know that. But young people are not the only ones who get sick in a school outbreak.
People who are at high risk can be infected by people who are at low risk. Please stop igoring this. Many elders live with their school-aged grandchildren; do not post as if this is not an issue.
@“Cardinal Fang” @usma87 , reading a little further, “overcrowded” appears to be putting it mildly. 35 to 38 kids to classrooms of 40 m2, air condition on at all times (which we know by know this virus LOVES) and, I infer from that, windows closed at all times, too.
It’s a good example for how NOT to do it.
Note that while there are no hospitalisations, not all positive cases appear to have recovered yet. It’s the sequelae to worry about with young people…
I remain puzzled how similar type schools located in close proximity to each other are arriving at opposite plans for the fall. If one cites reasons like the quarantine rules for other states residents and test result turn around times as prohibitive, how is it a college a few miles away can manage to open?
For example, Dickinson can’t but Gettysburg can? Also, schools relying on the same hospital system for Covid services are arriving at different plans, like Dickinson and Penn State Harrisburg.
There has been one fatality in Israel’s education system. A 64 year-old kindergarten teacher contracted the virus at the end of June and died on July 17th.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.jpost.com/israel-news/teacher-blames-parents-for-breaking-covid-19-restrictions-dies-of-virus-635481/amp
Limitations on class sizes were lifted on May 17, and I could not find info on any other precautions in kindergartens.
I don’t know if we can expect American parents to be any more responsible about sending sick or exposed kids to school than Israeli parents. In the Jerusalem School A outbreak, the two kids first identified were both symptomatic when they went to school. The Israeli kindergarten teacher who died had complained about parents sending kids to school when the family was supposed to be isolating.
Tulane’s classes start 8/19 as well. Move in is staggered starting August 10-13 for first year students and 14-17 for sophomores. I think most of the juniors and seniors are off campus.
Notre Dame starts classes Aug. 10
Breaking quarantine and isolation needs to be criminalised. After all, it can kill people just as reckless driving can.
Edited to say that same goes for obstructing contact tracing. Be serious about it. Make it illegal not to comply. Enforce it like you enforce traffic rules - breaking the rules may not be linked immediately to a death, but endangers the safety of all.
Honestly, using you parsing West Point’s motto makes no sense here. One could argue the “harder right” is to keep schools closed. Keeping the population safe is not wrong, IMO.
My ‘21 kid will start the new school year at home, which was decided last night at the local school board meeting. The local CA (Silicon Valley Area) HS district is closed for at least the 1st Q (early October). My other kid, who attends UMich, is all remote for the 1st semester.
We have a saying in my old gym, “Embrace the suck.” It happens. That’s what I’m telling my kids. I’m moving on. This discussion is old.
That puzzles me too. Especially the Boston area schools with some having everyone back and doubles allowed while others have no one returning.
As for Gettysburg, they are making use of local hotels to de-densify campus. Not sure Dickinson had that option.
Our district (Colorado) released the plan and has answered a lot of questions on social media or through emails. It’s crazy how many legit questions there are. Anyway, here are the highlights:
-2 days f2f, 2 days online, and Mondays are “self study” and when the teachers will prep.
-Students can opt for the hybrid, current classes online, or enroll in the online school. The online school is solid and has most APs.
-Teachers can opt to not teach f2f.
-plexiglass around each desktop. Be interesting to see…
-Added exterior doors to most ES classrooms and upgraded HVAC t all schools. They are very pleased with filtration.
-Masks required for all students and those that can not or won’t comply need to pick online school.
-Childcare will be available for k-8. Cost will be low, but kids on free lunch are free. In our district you can qualify for free lunch by income or just by saying you don’t have any money. I gotta wonder how many parents will take advantage of that.
-If numbers spike when CU Boulder resumes classes then it’s all online and no childcare. That seems like a powder keg waiting to explode…
-delayed start 1 week.
I am appalled that after all that Israel went through with lockdowns and such at first that sick kids would go to school (and middle school kids). This is why people cant have nice things.
i am in the camp that sending K-5 has the lowest risk and where daycare issues arise. It is also where in other countries it seems to work and the kids listen . Right now there are many daycares and camps open and though there are articles about those that have had cases, there are many that have not. During the stay at home period Y’s were open for kids of essential workers. We did not hear of large outbreaks.
So districts may need to think about starting with K-5 .
RIT has classes starting the 19th. Move in starting as early as the 12th.
@PALACPROF I agree with your assessment 100%.
I can’t blame a college at risk for deciding to bring back students, but I wish they’d be honest about it. “We know there’s a risk of an outbreak, but if we don’t bring students back we go bankrupt.” Just say it.
Not your call to say that I should do what you think is “hard”.
I agree with @sushiritto that the phrase doesn’t even apply here, as surely it can be considered difficult but necessary to keep schools open in online-only fashion, since the alternative is demonstrably unsafe for communities during a pandemic.
Our large (2nd in state) district’s school board in a flyover state with an upward curve but relatively few cases just voted unanimously to start the school year online.