Coronavirus in Massachusetts (landing, daycare, home)

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I just think it’s ridiculous that everyone is so open ears when the teachers whine but nurses and cops wouldn’t get the same pity

Nurses received plenty of pity, but the public also understands it falls within their job expectations and they are also provided proper PPE and training.

Asking PD departments/unions to act ethically and hold officers accountable is entirely unrelated to Covid and has no relevance to the discussion on whether schools should reopen.

You seem to want to will a false narrative into existence.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

My biggest issue with 100% distance learning is mental and development issues for the kids.


I thought this from professors at the Harvard School of Public Health is an intelligent and balanced take. For those who can's see the article, some of the main points that stuck with me include don't let polarized politics politics drive this decision, and "we should be following the science that says in-person schooling for our kids is too valuable to give up and that the risks of school-based transmission appear to be low".

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/...eopen-schools/

There's a bit of a difference between hybrid, distant and online.

Hybrid from what I get is a bit online and a bit in person.

Distance is the class is online but it is scheduled like the class itself. So there can be live video at that time.

Straight online can be all at once sort of like watching all of a tv show

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Nurses received plenty of pity, but the public also understands it falls within their job expectations and they are also provided proper PPE and training.

Asking PD departments/unions to act ethically and hold officers accountable is entirely unrelated to Covid and has no relevance to the discussion on whether schools should reopen.

You seem to want to will a false narrative into existence.

Lots of that going on within "conservatives" these days.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

Are you sure?

It's mostly gone here. I have no idea where people are catching it now, for awhile it seemed like it was mostly from being at home with positive family members. Maybe that is continuing. The riots didn't do much, July 4th didn't do much, reopening hasn't done anything...

[Bridge781]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

It's mostly gone here. I have no idea where people are catching it now, for awhile it seemed like it was mostly from being at home with positive family members. Maybe that is continuing. The riots didn't do much, July 4th didn't do much, reopening hasn't done anything...

Yep! But let’s still be afraid of it coming back. And it probably will. People get sick and die from the flu every year too. The people on this forum seem a bit nuts about this to me. The only person who makes sense to me is newfiemama.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Yep! But let’s still be afraid of it coming back. And it probably will. People get sick and die from the flu every year too. The people on this forum seem a bit nuts about this to me. The only person who makes sense to me is newfiemama.

I don't think it's at all nuts to proceed with extreme caution given that IFR rates still suggest a 5.6%+ rate for the 65+ demographics. Mentioning the flu here is rather irrelevant given it's much lower IFR rates.

Additionally, the pronounced clotting is something not typically seen in a 'normal' flu season. 'Swine' flu, yes, but then this particular strain has a much higher IFR. Even as a healthy 30-something, I'm not terribly excited to acquire the virus ... just as I'm not terribly complacent about herpes despite low IFR rates. No thank you.

[Bridge781]

I just ran into a friend whose kids go to a catholic school in Dorchester. Pre k through 8. She said they’ve been given a start date and it’s expected to be full time. They have small classes though. About 13 kids a class.

I’m sure someone will have some type of rude comment about catholic schools in Dorchester here as well.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

People get sick and die from the flu every year too.

How many people do you know under the age of 65 who landed in the hospital with the flu? The CDC says 70% of hospitalized flu patients are age 65+. Pretty much anyone under age 65 recovers fully.



The COVID-19 age profile for hospitalization looks nothing like that. According to the CDC, there were 37,052 hospitalizations the week of July 11. 15,506 were age 65+. There is insufficient data but a big chunk of those under 65 are looking at lung damage and chronic problems for the rest of their lives.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

I don't think it's at all nuts to proceed with extreme caution given that IFR rates still suggest a 5.6%+ rate for the 65+ demographics. Mentioning the flu here is rather irrelevant given it's much lower IFR rates.

Additionally, the pronounced clotting is something not typically seen in a 'normal' flu season. 'Swine' flu, yes, but then this particular strain has a much higher IFR. Even as a healthy 30-something, I'm not terribly excited to acquire the virus ... just as I'm not terribly complacent about herpes despite low IFR rates. No thank you.

Yeah, but you aren't trying to rationalize sacrificing public school teachers so you can use the school system as daycare.

[id77]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Yeah, but you aren't trying to rationalize sacrificing public school teachers so you can use the school system as daycare.

Sacrifice? You act like getting it isn't a 20% chance of complications or death but a 100% one. Endanger is a more appropriate word, but I've also figured out by now you're rather partial to emotionally-fueled hyperbole.

Nobody's excited about the options, but there's a very real and very big problem coming in September: what to do with all the school-aged children when their parents can't be around full-time because they're also being "sacrificed" to return to work. Here's the general options:

1. School is entirely remote. Problem: by September there will be a significant (and likely majority) of the population who is required to return to an office or other not-home place of employment. If you count people doing partial returns (1-3 days per week, 2 week rotations, etc) that number is probably around 80-90%. Some of those people are risking reduced pay or termination for not going in, so they're now forced to choose between staying home to be a "daycare" or leave their kids at home unattended. Don't even suggest babysitters, because there's not going to be even remotely enough to go around. There will have to be somewhere where numbers of children can be left together with adult supervision.

2. School is entirely on-site. This solves the "daycare" problem but creates your emotional "sacrifice" problem. Been beaten to death already, so leave this one there.

3. Hybrid of 1 and 2. Problem: how to coordinate which days kids go and make it work with which days parents go to an office to work? I can't get 8 people to line up for 1 hour a week; I can't imagine getting 30 kids' 1-3 days per week that will work for everyone.

Regarding option 1, I can tell you right now that suggesting that employers should be required/mandated by government to accommodate parents of schoolkids by letting them work from home and continue to be a quarter as productive as a result is a non-starter. Will. Not. Happen. I already know for a fact several employers have told parents who are WFH right now that when the office reopens, their only recourse is FMLA leave. That's a finite, and in many cases, reduced compensation that buys those parents maybe a few months more -- at best. Then they're also out a job, but hey, at least they'll be home with their kids while they take remote classes...at least until they can't pay the cable bill anymore and that shuts off.

Bottom line: everybody is going to be taking a hit for the team. This isn't just about sh*tting on teachers; they just happen to be the unfortunate lynchpin in the machine during this pandemic.