January in this case means no school since the start of January. Most K-12 schools in Europe closed for the holiday break and mid-December and did not open for in-building learning in January. At this point students have been out of the school buildings for 6 weeks. In most countries the schools will be remote until the start of April -- so two more months minimum to go.
Yes, I understand that. But the point of the tweet was the study about COVID morbidity for children and teachers from the New England Journal of Medicine, which took place well before the shutting of schools: Open Schools, Covid-19, and Child and Teacher Morbidity in Sweden In mid-March 2020, many countries decided to close schools in an attempt to limit the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).1,2 Sweden was one of the few countries that decided to keep preschools (generally caring for children 1 to 6 years of age) and schools (with children 7 to 16 years of age) open. Here, we present data from Sweden on Covid-19 among children 1 to 16 years of age and their teachers. In Sweden, Covid-19 was prevalent in the community during the spring of 2020.3 Social distancing was encouraged in Sweden, but wearing face masks was not.3 Data on severe Covid-19, as defined by intensive care unit (ICU) admission, were prospectively recorded in the nationwide Swedish intensive care registry. We followed all children who were admitted to an ICU between March 1 and June 30, 2020 (school ended around June 10) with laboratory-verified or clinically verified Covid-19, including patients who were admitted for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C, which is likely to be related to Covid-19)4 according to the Swedish Pediatric Rheumatology Quality Register. (More information on the registry and a link to the Word Health Organization scientific brief on MIS-C are provided in the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this letter at NEJM.org.) The Stockholm Ethics Review Board approved the study. Informed consent was waived by the review board. Table 1.Characteristics of the Children with Covid-19, Including Those with MIS-C, Admitted to Swedish ICUs in March–June 2020. The number of deaths from any cause among the 1,951,905 children in Sweden (as of December 31, 2019) who were 1 to 16 years of age was 65 during the pre–Covid-19 period of November 2019 through February 2020 and 69 during 4 months of exposure to Covid-19 (March through June 2020) (see the Supplementary Appendix). From March through June 2020, a total of 15 children with Covid-19 (including those with MIS-C) were admitted to an ICU (0.77 per 100,000 children in this age group) (Table 1), 4 of whom were 1 to 6 years of age (0.54 per 100,000) and 11 of whom were 7 to 16 years of age (0.90 per 100,000). Four of the children had an underlying chronic coexisting condition (cancer in 2, chronic kidney disease in 1, and hematologic disease in 1). No child with Covid-19 died. Data from the Public Health Agency of Sweden (published report5 and personal communication) showed that fewer than 10 preschool teachers and 20 schoolteachers in Sweden received intensive care for Covid-19 up until June 30, 2020 (20 per 103,596 schoolteachers, which is equal to 19 per 100,000). As compared with other occupations (excluding health care workers), this corresponded to sex- and age-adjusted relative risks of 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49 to 2.49) among preschool teachers and 0.43 (95% CI, 0.28 to 0.68) among schoolteachers (see the Supplementary Appendix). The present study had some limitations. We lacked data on household transmission of Covid-19 from schoolchildren, and the 95% confidence intervals for our results are wide. Despite Sweden’s having kept schools and preschools open, we found a low incidence of severe Covid-19 among schoolchildren and children of preschool age during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Among the 1.95 million children who were 1 to 16 years of age, 15 children had Covid-19, MIS-C, or both conditions and were admitted to an ICU, which is equal to 1 child in 130,000. Jonas F. Ludvigsson, M.D., Ph.D. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden jonasludvigsson@yahoo.com Lars Engerström, M.D., Ph.D. Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden Charlotta Nordenhäll, M.D., Ph.D. Swedish Association of Pediatric Rheumatology, Stockholm, Sweden Emma Larsson, M.D., Ph.D. Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this letter at NEJM.org. This letter was published on January 6, 2021, at NEJM.org.
And they only went to school when there was low prevalence of COVID in their local communities with a positive test rate of below 5%. Yes, Europe has demonstrated this fall the correct way to safely open schools when local community spread is low. They also demonstrated the proper social distancing, masks, and cleaning that must be done to be safe in schools. The U.S. can learn from this example.
That is certainly one possibility. But you have no evidence that this was the deciding factor. It certainly cannot hurt and most likely helped. But you can't say how much.
We have arrived at the point of "let's bribe them to teach in the school building". Faced with a total inability to get subs and teachers quitting in droves -- leading to undermanned classrooms; Governor Cooper proposes one time bonuses to education staff. Gov. Cooper proposes one-time bonuses for school personnel as part of emergency supplemental budget https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-ca...nel-as-part-of-emergency-supplemental-budget/ Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday joined DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen and State Budget Director Charlie Perusse for an update on the state’s response to COVID-19 and to share emergency supplemental budget recommendations. Cooper is proposing one-time bonuses to school personnel as part of a larger proposal of nearly $2 billion for emergency assistance for public and private K-12 schools and higher education in the state. “I am proposing one-time bonuses of $2,500 for teachers and principals, $1,500 for school personnel in public K-12 schools and $2,000 for workers in our community colleges and universities,” Cooper said. “In the last year, our teachers and school staff, along with community college and university workers, have gone above and beyond. Teachers have always been our heroes, but throughout this pandemic they have underscored their courage and commitment to educating our children.” Cooper’s budget also proposes $30 million in emergency investment to extend high-speed internet and 35,000 hotspots for education. “The federal stimulus extended the Paycheck Protection Program. I propose we invest $37 million more in emergency state funds to support small businesses, with a focus on historically underutilized businesses and our tourism and hospitality industry, which has been hit hard,” Cooper said about small businesses. “We know bars and restaurants are hurting and this budget proposes eliminating ABC permit fees, which will save them about $25 million.” Cooper said $546 million in federal dollars in his proposal will go toward the HOPE program, which makes payments directly to landlords and utilities to keep people in their homes. In terms of the overall budget, in addition to the federal stimulus funds, Cooper’s administration is recommending $695 million from the more than $4 billion in state funds. “People need help immediately, and we have both the means and the power to give it to them,” Cooper said.” Cooper said his plan deploys both federal and state resources. “The federal COVID relief package Congress passed in December provides more than $4 billion to North Carolina. It can do a lot of good,” Cooper said. On COVID-19, numbers in the state are stabilizing, but Cooper and Cohen stressed they are still too high. “As of today, we’ve had 781,802 lab confirmed cases; 5,495 new cases reported since yesterday; 2,630 people in the hospital; and sadly 9,728 people who have died. Our hearts are with the families and friends of loved ones lost to this virus,” Cooper said. “We continue to be encouraged to see our numbers stabilize. But still they are too high. Wednesday marked the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The virus is spreading and costing lives. It’s critical we keep taking it seriously.” Cohen said the state is seeing a positive trend in COVID-19 numbers, though cases remain high. Two weeks ago, 86 counties were in the “red” category (more than 200/100,000 new cases in 14 days with at least 42 cases in 14 days). That number is now down to 61 counties, Cohen said. NC lawmakers pass COVID relief, advance K-12 reopening bill North Carolina state senators have passed a bill requiring school boards allow the state’s 1.5 million K-12 public school students back in the classrooms. The proposal allows parents to choose to continue having their child learn remotely. The measure now heads to the state House of Representatives. It would then go to Gov. Roy Cooper if approved. Cooper has signaled his opposition to the bill. Lawmakers also sent the governor a coronavirus relief bill that would give about $1.6 billion for education. Some of the money will be used to help schools reopen. Parents would have more time to apply for a $335 check to help offset the remote learning costs they’ve incurred.
As far as I can see locally there are three groups of teachers in N.C. Those who believe they are safe teaching in schools -- because either they are young & not likely to be very sick, or they don't believe "COVID is real". Those who believe the schools are not safe but believe it is their responsibility to be in the buildings to teach if they are told they must. This by far is the largest group. Those teachers who believe the schools are not safe and won't come back (will quit first). Many are older or have some type of health issue. The problem with bonuses will not make any difference in staffing levels. Groups 1 and 2 above will be happy to take the bonus but it will not impact their decision to show up. Group 3 will not change their mind to showing up even with the bonus. The other issue is that local school districts cannot find subs. Even raising the sub pay from $65 per day to $250 per day did not increase the number of subs. The current list of willing subs locally is under a dozen each day.... in pre-COVID times the number of willing subs each day was in the hundreds. When schools open in mid-February --- and if things take the same track as in October to December -- the schools will be open for six weeks before they need to close due to lack of available staff. Teachers are not getting vaccines yet and it will be a couple months in N.C. before their group opens up. So vaccination level of staff will not help the situation over the next few months. The bonuses IMO is more of a bribe from the governor to urge teachers to stop griping so loudly about his decision to re-open schools.
Europe’s Schools Are Closing Again on Concerns They Spread Covid-19 Countries are abandoning pledges to keep classrooms open as concerns mount over children’s capacity to pass on the virus https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe...-on-concerns-they-spread-covid-19-11610805601 Closures have been announced recently in the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands on concerns about a more infectious variant of the virus first detected in the U.K. and rising case counts despite lockdowns. While the debate continues, recent studies and outbreaks show that schoolchildren, even younger ones, can play a significant role in spreading infections. “In the second wave we acquired much more evidence that schoolchildren are almost equally, if not more infected by SARS-CoV-2 than others,“ said Antoine Flahault, director of the University of Geneva’s Institute of Global Health. Schools have represented one of the most contentious issues of the pandemic given the possible long-term impact of closures on children and the economic fallout from parents being forced to stay home. (More at above url - subscription required)
Hard to believe that the Education Department under Trump did not even track which schools were opened or closed... Education Dept. Launches First Federal Effort To Track School Reopening https://www.npr.org/sections/corona...irst-federal-effort-to-track-school-reopening Ever since the pandemic closed the nation's schools in March 2020, there has been no official national source for understanding where schools have reopened, how many hours of live instruction students are getting online and just how unequal the access to learning has been over the past 11 months. On Friday, the National Center for Education Statistics, at the U.S. Department of Education, announced a new survey to answer all these questions and more. The survey will be administered to approximately 7,000 nationally representative elementary and middle schools across the country. It follows an executive order from President Biden. Schools will be surveyed on, among other things: Whether they are fully remote, hybrid or fully in-person How full-time, remote and hybrid enrollment varies by student race/ethnicity, income, English learner status and disability status Attendance rates, whether online or in-person, and by each subgroup listed above If hybrid, how often students are learning in person If remote, how many hours of live instruction are offered Whether certain students, such as younger students or those with disabilities, are being prioritized for in-person classes Results will be collected monthly from February through at least June 2021, and reported to the public. To get up and running quickly, the survey will rely on some of the existing data collection systems of the "Nation's Report Card" testing program, and the results will be used to help contextualize the results of that test when it is next given in 2022. The previous U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos, had said in October, "I'm not sure there's a role at the department to collect and compile" data on how the pandemic has impacted schools. In the absence of federal data collection efforts, private organizations have stepped in, including an organization called Burbio, which scrapes a selection of school websites, and the Center on Reinventing Public Education. Mark Schneider directs the Institute of Education Sciences, which includes the National Center for Education Statistics. He says this survey is long overdue. "It's really important that we have a much better sense of what's going on here. There's a ton of stuff missing." The Department of Education didn't state whether the new data collection will include data on coronavirus cases associated with schools, or safety procedures schools are following. Schneider says that may be handled going forward in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.