S/o More On Back to School

[acmom]

My area (in NY) was doing pretty well with testing and our numbers. But in the past week or so, we have seen numbers creep up a little bit again for the first time in a long time, as well as testing waits increase again. Officials are saying the rise in #s is due to people traveling to/from other states, as well as larger gatherings of young people and the testing delays are due to high volume of testing across the country. Officials here are urging parents to get their teenagers tested and saying they are having difficulty with cooperation w/ contact tracing with younger people, which I think is concerning for high schools and colleges.

We also had a cluster of 15+ cases in a home daycare nearby. Testing lag times contributed to that as it was started by a mom who dropped her child off for daycare bc it was taking a while to get her results bc she thought it was just allergies. Turned out she was positive as was her child (asymtomatic). 6 kids (infant-elementary age) and people in 4 of their families have now tested positive as well.

[lurksalot]

I read this article yesterday and I got really hung up on this part:

One study in France is reassuring. In that investigation of 541 students and 46 teachers, there were no documented transmission events from students to teachers. However, while many of us immediately think of the risk to teachers from exposure in the classroom, we may not consider the additional risk that teachers face in break rooms and staff meetings.

This isn't even the size of my school, really scant evidence here. One study of this size is not at all reassuring to my teachers and these are teachers who really want to come back.

My husband and I both work in education and we just discussed the inevitable reality we will I don't know, I don't have any HVAC in my office, at all. I just bought an air purifier for my office and I purchased one of these to try with my little guy with significant special needs.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
https://www.airtamer.com/

[PZMommy]

I’m trying to link the article, but in Arizona, teachers we’re teaching at school, no kids. 3 teachers tested positive, one just died.

acmom, your story about the daycare is exactly what will happen at school after school in the fall.

CA is a hot mess with testing again. Tests are restricted and it is taking around 8 days for results. The public health officer has already stated they will not be able to contract trace for the schools as there are too many schools, and the district will need to have a plan for that. It’s almost for certain we aren’t returning in August at this point.

[carolinamama]

The original thread has gotten really long and pretty unwieldy. I wanted to share this article by an epidemiologist and parent on why he thinks kids should return to in person school (subject I think to all the usual qualifiers about local conditions). https://www.vox.com/2020/7/9/2131856...ning-questions

As we discussed in the other thread, he notes that rapid testing and relaying results immediately to the school district is critical.

This is a good article and I agree with most of it. Exactly why I think we've settled on keeping our kids home for the year in virtual learning. Not my first choice overall, but it is our best one given our current situation in NC. Other states have better numbers. So many differences between Europe's handling of the virus and ours I find it hard to compare. China shut down part of Beijing for 137 cases (which were found after testing 356,000 people in less than a week). My mind struggles to enable a comparison. Their demographics mean far fewer children to be exposed. Ultimately we are all being put in a position of making the best decisions based on our own situation and the numbers around us.

My understanding is that our death rate maybe unrealistically low right now, given the recent surge and the time it takes for those cases to take their toil. I don't know where that puts us in comparison to Europe, in say, 6 weeks from now.

Sidebar: Death rate is obv important, but the info I'd love more of is avg number of cases that result in long term complications, take many, many months to resolve, etc. When I think about our own family's risk I don't really think about the possibility of death, except when considering my parents and inlaws, all in their 70's and 80's. But I am concerned about long term health consequences, esp. with the information coming out about clotting. You see anecdotal stories in the news, but I haven't seen numbers/analysis of cases (and maybe it's too early).

Yes, I am more concerned about long-term health implications. Our neighbor's 20 year old daughter is a college soccer player. 2 months after her positive test, she still can't run at all because of shortness of breath. She's young and super fit. There is a common saying among experienced ICU nurses that there are worse things than death. I've seen them first hand. I don't want anyone saying it about me or my family. It would be interesting to see the data on long-term effects down the road.

[PZMommy]

Here is a link to the article

https://www.yahoo.com/news/arizona-t...023104473.html

[niccig]

My area (in NY) was doing pretty well with testing and our numbers. But in the past week or so, we have seen numbers creep up a little bit again for the first time in a long time, as well as testing waits increase again. Officials are saying the rise in #s is due to people traveling to/from other states, as well as larger gatherings of young people and the testing delays are due to high volume of testing across the country. Officials here are urging parents to get their teenagers tested and saying they are having difficulty with cooperation w/ contact tracing with younger people, which I think is concerning for high schools and colleges.

We also had a cluster of 15+ cases in a home daycare nearby. Testing lag times contributed to that as it was started by a mom who dropped her child off for daycare bc it was taking a while to get her results bc she thought it was just allergies. Turned out she was positive as was her child (asymtomatic). 6 kids (infant-elementary age) and people in 4 of their families have now tested positive as well.

This is exactly what will happen in the Fall. Parents will get child tested, test results will take days and parents can’t miss that much work as many jobs don’t have sick leave policies, and even if do, there’s pressure to turn up to work. Patent will dose child with medicine to lower fever, or child is asymptomatic.

Not all families have the advantage of being able to keep child home for days waiting on test results. It happens now, a student will be at school, looks poorly and tell us they were vomiting all night and parent gave them medicine before sent them to school. Office staff call for child to be picked up, and it can take hours for someone to get there. And there’s no nurse, so child has to sit in the office where can be supervised so office staff can keep working.




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[doberbrat]

My understanding is that our death rate maybe unrealistically low right now, given the recent surge and the time it takes for those cases to take their toil. I don't know where that puts us in comparison to Europe, in say, 6 weeks from now.

Sidebar: Death rate is obv important, but the info I'd love more of is avg number of cases that result in long term complications, take many, many months to resolve, etc. When I think about our own family's risk I don't really think about the possibility of death, except when considering my parents and inlaws, all in their 70's and 80's. But I am concerned about long term health consequences, esp. with the information coming out about clotting. You see anecdotal stories in the news, but I haven't seen numbers/analysis of cases (and maybe it's too early).

I'm afraid I agree with you. There are things worse than death IMO. And on top of potential long term health consequences ... given the way health care works in our country .... long term care or long hospitalizations can bankrupt a family.

I still think going back is the right thing to do and I'm feeling slightly better about it; but I am also realistic in knowing that our schools are in a much better position than much of the country. I would not feel nearly as good if I were in CA, TX, FL etc.

[niccig]

IMG_1298.JPG

Why is it all on schools to figure this out?
The county health department said there’s too many schools for them to do contract tracing, so schools have to figure that out. Our superintendent said contract tracing is public health responsibility, not the schools. Our job is to educate, not pick up the slack other agencies won’t do

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[PunkyBoo]

I still think going back is the right thing to do and I'm feeling slightly better about it; but I am also realistic in knowing that our schools are in a much better position than much of the country. I would not feel nearly as good if I were in CA, TX, FL etc.

I just read the Vox article and I agree. But I'm in California, and my kids start in 4 weeks. We're supposed to be given "the plan" from both my kids' districts next week.
My DH works overseeing a school construction/renovation project in DS1's district. He sent me a photo yesterday to show me how they're setting up desks for social distancing, and all I could focus on is that there is carpet on the floor. Brand new, just installed, carpet tiles. I pointed that out to DH and he said it helps acoustics. Uh, ok. How exactly will they sanitize carpet quickly between classes??? If teacher and students are all wearing masks, the acoustics are going to suck anyway. I have very little faith that our school districts are thinking these things through. But my DS2 has a 504 and distance learning was a nightmare, and he did not do well with DH or me teaching him and no other kids around him. The conundrum I feel boils down to: they can teach the kids but can't keep them safe; I can keep them safe but can't teach them.

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[lurksalot]

IMG_1298.JPG

Why is it all on schools to figure this out?
The county health department said there’s too many schools for them to do contract tracing, so schools have to figure that out. Our superintendent said contract tracing is public health responsibility, not the schools. Our job is to educate, not pick up the slack other agencies won’t do

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When reading my district's current proposal it sounds like they are thinking our attendance clerks will be a part of contact tracing.