I am agonizing over this and hope that a clear answer arrives next month. As much as I worry about kids in trouble, I think a nationwide protest about going back to school might jolt the country's mindset about safety and T at last. My oldest daughter is teaching, and the other in high school. They are going NOWHERE near schools until it's safe. If we wait another month or two and get covid under control, then they could return for good. (Where in Oregon do you live, Michele? I'm in Salem.) :)
I am always, always in awe of the the poetry/posts you make on your cell phone! ?
My sleep-deprived chronically challenged brain apparently works in stranger and stranger new accommodating to life's challenges' way.
But my auto mis-corrected family texts are quite frankly legendary. ?
@jewels
Oh my I can so feel your heart and these are scary and challenging times!
I am grateful that Gov. Brown seems to really weigh the pros and cons and confers with not only governors from other states but our own experts in many fields.
Has your teaching daughter done any of the online virtual teaching so far? I'm think those with fully open schools will only be in those counties with almost no cases and those in questionable size wise but fewer with cases will be deferred to local school superintendents and school boards as to hybrid teaching with some in classroom and some online.
I truly doubt that anyone here would be forced into situations where parents had really strong emotional fears and opinions.
And i bet there's always the option of requesting virtual substitute teaching IF there's time to get training and set-up.
If i were you or your daughters I'd truly get skilled with home zooming between all of you in a family zoom room to learn how it all works.
Lets face it, this will involve a lot of fear on both sides of all classrooms in real ones for some but online for a lot.
With Oregon having so many rural areas, hybrid programs will create not only school but transportation issues with changing daily schedules.
Just remember they are all working on this like crazy and no matter what they decide it will still be crazy!
Go with the flow has never meant more or been more mentally, physically, or psycho-spiritually important.
Thank you, Michele, your message is very reassuring. Yes, the virtual teaching did work. Gave me a thought about at risk students: perhaps they could be paired as study buddies with students in stable homes that also provide proper technology/skills for online classes. In a host atmosphere, they could be safe, well fed and have emotional support -- like foster daycare school. The paired up system might also help teachers, many of whom had to each track more than 100 kids (I applaud the teachers, I dont know how they did it).
A friend of mine linked today to what appears to be a really useful source of data from Georgia Tech.
It is a map of the county-level risk (in the U.S.) of encountering a Covid-19 positive person in a gathering of 10-10,000. Use the slider to the left of the map to select the gathering size. Then you can zoom into the county you want.
There are also tabs with more data. Also, of course, it is important to pay attention to what data they are using. They link to details on the data at the COVID Tracking Project ( https://covidtracking.com/ ) where you can see, state-by-state, how they are gathering data, how the state reports data, etc.
Overall, I think it gives a useful picture of where risks are higher vs lower and may aid in making reopening decisions.
COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool
More than 7,000 kids have tested positive in Florida. If even one kid in a school tests positive, that child's classmates and teachers and any staff who came within contact distance will have to quarantine for two weeks. Talk about a disruption! Who teaches a class if a teacher has to quarantine? How does another teacher teach if one class out of several is out on quarantine? And what about contact tracing; if that child tests positive, and his or her class and teacher have to quarantine, do the kids who who passed that child in the hall need to quarantine, too? What about the kid who sits in the infected child's desk during the next hour, or played with him or her on the playground at recess? Opening schools would be the worst idea right now. Everything closed down in March when there were only a fraction of the cases there are now. And I saw this as the mom of a high school sophomore, and a college junior who will likely lose his scholarship swim season. I'd rather have my kids safe and healthy and bored and grieving the loss of their school year than then loss of friends and teachers due to covid.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article243892967.html
Plus there are studies that show the long term effects on COVID-19 survivors were not good, to say the least. Even if their kid survived the virus, there's a good chance their quality of life will be significantly diminished. Getting a good scholarship or a college placement means nothing if their children don't have the good health to enjoy reaping the benefits of their efforts.
I want to gently ask you not to exaggerate the findings of these studies. No one is saying that all or even most of the covid survivors are experiencing long term effects.
The studies are concerning and they are all over the news now. We need to know about them, but we do not need to assume that if we get covid we will develop chronic illnesses.
The studies are preliminary. The illness is too young to establish that it continues long-term. They are concerned about possible long-term effects because it could be similar to MERS and SARS, but even with those diseases, only a portion of sufferers had residual effects.
On the other hand, it is good to respect that this disease is dangerous and we need to avoid it, if we can and so for that, I thank you for posting about it.
We won't know about long term effects until... the long term but there is scientific evidence to indicate that it is more likely that survivors will suffer from chronic issues, based on what is already known about SARS and MERS.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2020/looking-forward-understanding-long-term-effects-covid-19
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/06/02/covid-health-effects
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200622-the-long-term-effects-of-covid-19-infection
@laura-f. I think we are coming from different concerns in this conversation about Covid that began with Goldstone's post. I was concerned about the Chicken Little effect of reading some headlines and assuming that a person who has had Covid-19 is doomed to long term chronic illness. They are not doomed, and there are no studies that say that.
But it is a dangerous and mysterious disease, and more than a respiratory disease, and people should do all they can to avoid getting it.
The articles you posted are coming from the perspective that (1) public health authorities and medical providers should be prepared to do long term follow up on Covid survivors and (2) that it is more than a respiratory illness. Follow up should encompass not just respiratory, but all organ systems, especially cardiovascular and neurological.
As you pointed out, there are no long-term studies on Covid-19, only on SARS and MERS, which are similar diseases, but they do not yet know if Covid-19 will behave similarly.
They all say that some (not all or even the majority) of SARS and MERS's sufferers especially those who were severe enough to be hospitalized, showed longterm health effects.
None of the articles say that if you get Covid 19 you are going to or are likely to suffer longterm chronic illness. I believe you know this, but I am putting it here for others who don't have the time or inclination to read the whole articles.
So if you are reading this post and are a Covid-19 survivor, you are not doomed, and there are no studies that suggest you are.
@jewels @saibh I agree with your feelings. If you haven't gotten Covid-19, stay safe and keep your kids home.