@Knowsstuff You have seen the same thing all summer, no? Kids in the city with masks. Kids in the suburbs without. There’s more space out here. The vast majority of time the kids are spending together is outside. It’s been a hot summer with very little rain so it’s been super easy to be outside.
When it comes to college, of course it’s different than here. Kids living together in dorms, sharing bathrooms. Kids aren’t doing that here. But add on pre-testing and then testing three times a week and masks everywhere except in their bedrooms and the virus really shouldn’t be all that present. If a month goes by with a few or no cases, I don’t get why a school would cautiously add some things back that we know did not make spikes this summer like playing outside without masks.
About Bowdoin specifically, we know class will be remote for spring but they have said that they will little by little take back some restrictions if all goes well. It’s a giant experiment of course. I think the NESCACs with very conservative plans have said the same.
You mean, would they be willing to trade a higher rate of infection for a more normal existence? The answer is “no”, if the only incentive is the ability to leave home without a mask. No.
Since it appears that any natural immunity built up from having the disease disappears within 4 months, it is hard to see how a vaccine will be much different. So first responders and medical personnel will need frequent vaccines, and there won’t be enough to go around by Sept 2021. I think NEU has this right-we are in for 4-5 years of this, and may as well plan accordingly.
Sorry but I just do not see everyone in masks and social distancing for years on end. If our little microcosm of a suburb can act like they did this summer in a state that did indeed have the virus around then people aren’t going to agree to live in fear.
Luckily, my district is on top of it. We have our platforms, schedules, and suggested formats for classes. We are teaching hybrid, with kids in school half day and remote half day. We are still very nervous about keeping kids engaged online, but at least we have the plan.
That’s amazing and maybe gives some hope that things can and will improve over the next couple semesters. Although all the sports you mentioned are outdoors and pretty much individual rather than team sports.
Also wonder how many asymptomatic cases there are if there isn’t much random testing. I’ve recently heard of a bunch of 18s and under around me who have been or are currently sick with Covid: fever, headaches, fatigue and GI upset. No hospitalizations.
I dropped DD off to her college last week. She was very happy to be able to go back and I have been impressed with the school’s Covid plans. Her school is quite remote and students are not allowed to leave campus. They had to have a negative test to move in and take another test as soon as they got on campus and then quarantine till they got those test results back. All students and college employees working with students are being tested twice a week. There are all the typical social distancing rules and mask requirements. Some classes are in person and some online.
When we arrived on campus, there were large canopy tents set up everywhere. Many activities/classes will now take place outside. The gym’s workout facilities have been moved outside. Partitions have been set up for dining in the cafeterias. Additional modular dorms were set up. There are apps for their health monitoring, etc. etc. It is a tremendous amount of effort the school has put into it and I hope it all works out so that they can get through the fall semester.
Money is always an issue, but I think in this case its the local testing capacity. NE can use the local testing plus the Broad Institute. ND for example has the money to test more often, but they’re limited to the number of tests that the local lab can turn around quickly.
Things are opening up, but in a slow and controlled manner. I live in Westchester County. K-5 are set to open fultime f2f. The middle school and high school will go hybrid. There are many small school districts in the county, so I cannot talk for all, but many have a similar plan.
Low risk sports can open on Sept 21st (open the schools and wait). Competition within the same region are permitted. Gyms are permitted to open today (if they managed to pass county inspection) - with masks and and additional limitations.
Perhaps if your county rate was below 1%, your district too would be willing to offer K-5 f2f.
I have seen kids with masks in downtown Naperville. I only work there and don’t live there. Just what I am observing. I talk to parents and they tell me their kids are wearing masks with friends over but if 6 feet apart in the backyard they don’t.
The neighborhood I live in but travel through out the city really aren’t that much different then the suburbs. I live in a typical A frame house with a 2.5 car garage… Our space is smaller no doubt but walking down the street isn’t that much different then Hinsdale or any other suburban area,I have been to. It’s not a density issue like New York. Just people are taking it more seriously. I am usually the one not wearing a mask walking my dog since no one is around me but I always have one in my pocket. The younger sect seems to be wearing masks even if just power walking alone. It’s pretty impressive actually.
RIT dashboard https://www.rit.edu/ready/dashboard
does not say how many kids were tested. But does say 3 cases students, and 1 case employee, and 7 students in Quarantine.
My D had the virus on March 18. She still has antibodies, which is a good sign.
NYC and the surrounding area was he## back in March and April. Just heading to the mailbox to get your daily mail turned into a production. I will absolutely wear a mask and live with a slow, controlled opening if it means avoiding what we had going on a few months ago.
Schools in my county are starting remote, and will likely go hybrid and then full f2f if things continue to go well.
I think the CDC recco is to only open schools if the positive rate is less than 5%, but an upward trend would be cause for concern. Dr Birx is all over the data predicting where the next hot spots will be. @homerdog@Knowsstuff Where are the new cases in Illinois coming from? I believe that yesterday Illinois reported the 4th highest number of new cases in the country. That has to be watched closely, though different parts of a state can present totally differently.
I think that the typical college calendar needs to be adjusted to make the movement of students more controlled. Make it year round and hire enough professors to stagger courses on a rolling basis. Instead of 20k people descendIng on a town within a couple of weeks in August we ask all students to sign year long rental agreements in low density off campus housing and then say only 5k will trickle in over a 3 month period and repeat 4x.
Just keeping up with the science, @homerdog. I am not “living in fear” now; I take sensible precautions, but otherwise try to continue my normal routine, which is what NEU is trying to do. I did read the article-the Hong Kong man was clearly infected the second time (not just shedding virus from his first infection) and had no symptoms, only caught as he was tested for travelling from Spain. So in other words, those college kids who already had covid once are just as likely as the rest to catch it again, and again spread it to anyone, once 90 days are up. It is likely an artificial vaccine will be similarly short-lived, doctors tell me. I think COVID will always be with us, but we will cease be excited when outbreak clusters occur.
When I look at the updated Illinois map, it looks like there are only increases in two of the regions. The south suburbs of Chicago and the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. All other regions steady around 5% or lower. I guess that’s why schools aren’t sure whether to open. Many regions at 5% but have been there for quite a while now.
I agree it will take this type of creativity to work best. Isn’t insanity doing the same thing over and expecting different results? I recently read what Brown was doing by creating 3 semesters instead of two and I though finally a creative idea! There has long been a push for year round k-12 school, maybe now is the time.