I don't disagree with any of this. Yes, the definite majority of parents don't support opening full time, but I believe the reason for this is the large majority of parents aren't all that smart and generally do as they are told. If they are told there is danger, they will err on the side of believing the danger. You don't truly get this unless you are a parent. I remember when COVID came out I was a total nutcase - until I did my own research and determined the risk to my child and to me and my wife. Most people don't do the level of research to get to that point. I'm someone who has land up in the mountains, guns, owns silver and gold and is generally a closet prepper. Don't you think that if there was a risk of this I'd be the one who would seriously be hunkering down? I constantly speak to people who are quite smart in the real world, yet have such a lack of fundamental understanding of this virus - or any virus for that matter - and get most of their "news" from social media. Its ridiculous. So its not surprising. It is also true that many schools that open will suffer outbreaks. So what? They're going to suffer flu and other Coronavirus and Norovirus outbreaks because that's what happens in the schools. Viruses spread. If no one dies, who cares? It is also true that there is no real ability to perform social distancing in classrooms and hallways, and even if you had a method, kids won't follow it because - kids. But again, that's life. We've lived for a long time under this and there's no real difference to most of the population, and those there IS a difference to need to quarantine themselves. Let kids be kids. Let them play sports. Let them socialize. We are damaging them in ways we won't begin to fully realize until much later and when they grow up to be damaged adults, it will really be our fault.
Outbreaks hit schools across the South https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/13/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/ Several of the first U.S. schools to reopen their classrooms are already experiencing covid-19 outbreaks. The news is particularly grim in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp (R) declined to issue an order requiring masks in schools. One district there has been forced to quarantine nearly 1,000 students and staff.
Today's example of poor policy. Keep in mind that the level of community infection in the U.S. can only be tracked via the percentage of positive tests in the community. As noted in the article the standard for most school systems is 5%. In NYC it is 3%. Shelby County has set the level at 25%. Note that R (effective reproduction number) cannot be used as a criteria in the U.S. since it is only estimated; there are no factual R figures since nearly no contact tracing is being performed in the U.S. Contact tracing is required to properly calculate the actual R. Schools can stay open until coronavirus positivity rate hits 25%, Shelby County health department says https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2020/8/12/...ercent-positivity-rate-health-department-says Shelby County health officials say they won’t recommend closing schools or returning to a stay-at-home order until 25% of coronavirus tests in the community come back positive — a threshold dramatically higher than other cities across the nation. By contrast, New York City’s mayor has said school buildings must shutter if the positivity rate exceeds 3%, and other school districts have vowed to limit in-person learning when the rate hits 5%. While Shelby County’s guidelines mean that coronavirus infection rates would have to get a lot worse before the health department urges school buildings shut, the majority of students in the county won’t be returning to campuses just yet. That’s because Shelby County Schools is scheduled to begin online Aug. 31 and remain virtual until further notice. The district has not yet indicated what coronavirus case numbers would signal a safe return to school buildings or what would prompt recurring closures. Some local charter schools, private schools, and suburban districts have already begun in-person learning or are planning to do so later this month. At the beginning of August, the county’s positivity rate was 15.4%, which means about one in every six coronavirus tests that week was positive. That’s down from a peak of 16.3% in mid-July, but is still high enough that the White House deemed the area a “red zone,” due to high infection rates. Alisa Haushalter, the county health department director, said the 25% threshold was set through consensus of local infectious disease experts, health department officials, and leaders of the county’s “Back to Business” plan. She also said testing and hospital capacity would factor into decision-making. “Getting children back to school is a priority for many reasons,” she said in an email. “Decreasing community transmission impacts schools. We will aim to address community factors prior to closing schools.” The department said that it would also advise closing schools if the county averages more than 750 new coronavirus cases per day during a week or the rate of new cases increases by more than 40% over two weeks. Elsewhere the thresholds are far lower. In Indianapolis, officials plan to limit in-person instruction if the positivity rate surpasses 5% and close school buildings entirely if the rate is higher than 13%. Many Colorado districts are leaning on state guidance for reopening businesses, which can occur if the positivity rate is less than 5%. Shelby County’s coronavirus positivity rate only dipped below 5% for one week in May, according to five months of health department data. Stephanie Love, a Shelby County Schools board member, said that there are too many cases in the county now for in-person learning to resume. And the district and the health department have not worked out basic contact tracing plans. (Two unnamed area schools will participate in a testing pilot program for teachers and students, the city announced Wednesday afternoon.) “We have no plan in place that fully protects all our students and educators because we don’t know what they are walking in the building with,” she told Chalkbeat. “The protection infrastructure was not set up for everyone’s safety, in my opinion.” Based on the Shelby County Health Department’s guidance that went into effect Monday, schools would be among the last local buildings to close. If the county’s positivity rate hits 25%, the department would have already implemented a curfew, restricted sporting events, and closed some restaurants. Currently, the department has ordered some bars to shutter temporarily and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. Religious gatherings are allowed, but health officials are urging places of worship to continue online services. The department is requiring other businesses to limit customers to 50% capacity. The city government and county health department have required masks in public indoor spaces, and Haushalter said that has contributed to a recent decrease in new cases. “We are stable and have been stable for some weeks now and are running 250 to 300 cases per day, which was a significant decrease under the 500, 600, 700 that we have seen in July,” she told reporters Tuesday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends schools consider closing if there is a “substantial, uncontrolled transmission” but does not define it. “Communities can support schools staying open by implementing strategies that decrease a community’s level of transmission,” says the CDC guidance dated Aug. 1. “However, if community transmission levels cannot be decreased, school closure is an important consideration.”
Good. I happen to agree with this. What ever happened to "flatten the curve so hospitals aren't overwhelmed"? When did it become "make sure we're below X number in positive tests or everyone has to stay locked up?"
Let's review, once again, the 5 points of why a lock-down period is necessary: 1) To prevent the overloading of hospital resources - where the number of COVID-19 patients is greater than capacity to treat them. 2) To provide time to obtain the necessary number of COVID-19 test kits and get a testing process in place to meet the necessary capacity for re-opening. 3) To get proper Contact Tracing in place for COVID-19 prior to re-opening. This includes getting the necessary systems in place and getting people hired for the positions. 4) To reduce the effective infection rate (R) to below 0.8 in a community before opening. 5) To reduce the total number of infections in the community to reduce the number of vector starting points when re-opening that must be traced and quarantined. We are facing a novel pandemic with no vaccine and no effective drug treatment. The steps to re-open include a 60 day lockdown period followed by a phased reopening with clear entry & exit criteria for each stage. This is the best possible balance of public health, mental health, and the economy. There is tremendous economic risk if the states re-open to early since an immediate follow-up wave of the pandemic would take the economy down for many more months than doing it right the first time.
Yeah, I've heard all this before. So what would President GWB do if he were handed the reigns right now?
As a note today is the "first day of school" in Wake County where any students will be present in schools in the "Orientation period". However the students are only coming in to pick up supplies at a few schools - not for classes and won't be allowed inside. All of this is being done in a socially distanced manner with masks, etc. Some Wake County students kick off first day of school, beginning 2-week orientation https://www.wral.com/some-wake-coun...school-beginning-2-week-orientation/19233881/ Thursday was the first day of school for some students in Wake County, and it looked different than any other 'back-to-school' day in recent memory – with students and parents not even being allowed to enter the building upon arrival. Thursday was just the beginning of a two-week orientation period. The reopening is happening slowly, allowing teachers, parents and students to connect and figure out how online learning will work. At schools like Moore Square Magnet Middle School, this first day will only be for picking up instructional supplies – books and other materials that students will need to follow along with their studies. Teachers will also be looking for students they have had trouble reaching, to find out what might be causing that disconnect. In a Facebook message to parents, the principal acknowledged how different this school year will be. “We really again, just want to stress that this can be an exciting time and if we help our students see this as an opportunity for growth to be going and doing something nobody has ever done before, that is kind of exciting," said school principal Jackie Jordan. The first day of official academic instruction is August 27 – allowing for a slow ramp up to a new way of learning.
Georgia school district closes second high school as coronavirus quarantines grow The announcement comes as the district listed nearly 1,200 students and staff had been quarantined https://www.foxnews.com/us/georgia-district-closes-second-high-school-coronavirus-quarantines