Where I live, we cannot enter any business without a mask and most people wear them indoors. Outdoors.. well, I have not seen crowds or dense areas without people wearing them but they do walk outside without them on if there are only a few people out and distance themselves (walk away from each other) outside. Of course, we have only had nice (warm, not rainy) weather for the last week. I stay home most of the time (go out about once a week for groceries) when I am not at work (where I have a mask on all day). I do take it off to get some fresh air and some sun on my face when I get outside. But I take care not to be close to anyone (within 6 ft). When I go shopping, I am wearing a mask until I get in my car. There is now an governor's executive order that says business owners can require masks and refuse business to those that don't wear them. My husband has to wear fire-rated workshirts (coated/treated with long sleeves) and a mask while at work in over 90 degree areas even up on ladders and gets dizzy. At night he gets horrible muscle cramps. I think he should be able to pull the mask down when he is up on the ladders while he is installing lights etc. The pharmaceutical company employees are walking around maskless inside. No one says anything when he points that out.
NYC is set to reopen by June 6.
Some new info on the virus itself, I can't speak to accuracy, but it's an interesting avenue for research and does answer some questions:
COVID19 May Be a Blood Vessel Disease
An interesting story about how Iceland beat the coronavirus. They are a small rural country, so that helped, but they had an aggressive early tracking and testing approach that seems to have worked.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/08/how-iceland-beat-the-coronavirus
Does anyone else get a really bad feeling about the numbers in the coming weeks due to all the protests? My son's girlfriend's parents were down at the protests daily last week, and I was downtown distributing food to residents in an affected neighborhood last weekend, so we've told the kids they need to keep distanced for a week to make sure we didn't bring anything home. Most of the gatherings were very masked - I'm hearing that people at George Floyd's memorial site will tell you to go away if you show up without a mask- but the marches and protests weren't quite as covered. And Minnesota is already experiencing a rapid rise in numbers; what about the rest of the country after all this? My son's college just sent out a notice that classes will start a week early, in person ... in a state that has never shut down. I'm feeling very nervous about summer.
You are right to be concerned. Anyone who is worried should self isolate for 14 days, not one week.
If I was in college right now and they insist on in-person classes, I'd either take Fall semester off on Leave of Absence or transfer elsewhere. If that's at all possible, your son should do so.
@laura-f He has an athletic scholarship and several academic scholarships on the line. We have a lot of decisions to make and info to find in the next two months. He has a teammate who very likely had covid in December ... it’s possible my son has already been exposed. Who knows. So many people are up in the air in so many ways right now.
Right now the schools in my area (the philly burbs) have announced they will open in the fall. I am worried, but I am sustained by the thought that so much can happen between now and then. (These days, so much happens in a single day!)
So, sure, they can SAY they will open in the fall, but who knows what will happen when that time comes. That's why I am trying not to stress about the fall when there is so much to stress about right now.
All of which is to say, @saibh, is that you never know what will happen. They are SAYING they will start a week early, in person, but ... the best laid plans of mice and men, and all that :)
Our state university is opening early and planning to wrap up the semester by Thanksgiving. There are many discussions happening about how to limit the risk of COVID-19 spread, and I hear that desks have been removed from classrooms in the building where I teach so that the remaining desks can be spread out more. Being in a classroom together for 60+ minutes 3x/week will be a risk, but I know the majority of my students struggled terribly with online learning and with some classes (like mine) there are kinds of learning that require the communication and trust that is difficult to impossible to generate without meeting in person. One of my most powerful teaching tools are individual writing conferences. I could try to replicate this with zoom, but it wouldn't be the same; in person I confer an energy that helps students viscerally understand that I care about them, I see and hear them, and recognize and value their abilities. I'm working to figure out how to make many parts of my course accessible online and to "train" my students in online learning should we need to shut down like we did in March. The main challenge will be equity of access to education for students who are immunocompromised or high risk or even simply ill and needing to stay home to avoid passing what they have to others.
I don't see how schools can not resume learning on campus come August/September, and governments need to be offering guidance and funding toward reducing risk as much as possible right NOW. But only online/distance learning is profoundly inequitable. Schools are necessary, and for some children, it is their safe space. Some children access vital support services only at school. Not everyone can succeed in meeting educational goals without direct, in-person instruction. But we also need equitable access for those who are most vulnerable to complications of COVID-19--they need equal access to quality instruction from safe spaces. No easy answers here!
@herondreams I have two kids going back to college and I’m very anxious. I understand the need to do so. My daughter is a health science major and needs to complete her clinical studies. She attends college in CT. I’m just not hearing the nuts and bolts of “how” will this work. I’m waiting as I know they are trying to work it out but I do have reservations. The students and faculty and all who are part of the university are all at risk. My son attends in DE and their approach is a bit different. I know each state has to do what’s best for them. Sending good, pure light to everyone.