Covid and School

[cartman]

Hey guys, I just got released from the Jade Helm concentration camp I've been in since 2015. Can you catch me up on what I've missed? They put a faraday cage around the abandoned Wal-Mart, so I didn't have any internet.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by cartman

Hey guys, I just got released from the Jade Helm concentration camp I've been in since 2015. Can you catch me up on what I've missed? They put a faraday cage around the abandoned Wal-Mart, so I didn't have any internet.

Maybe you can help those of us on the outside (if this doesn't sound like gibberish): Could you let us know when President Donald Trump and his shadow government are going to be re-instated with the pillow guy as his VP?

SI

[Flasch186]

Got the email/letter

One of our kids was in “close contact” and will find out in the morning (after the kids play with each other all night tonight) which one of the kids it is.

Then THAT kid will be quarantined but the other kids are free to go back to school.

Yup, doing this really well in Florida.


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[Lathum]

Your kids play with each other? Congrats!

[tarcone]

I figure after Labor day we are fully masked and all the shit from last year is in place or we are completely shut down.

What a joke to use children as pawns.

[Drake]

Members of my community just social-media bullied our director of the county Health Department into lifting the mask mandate for schools. Within two weeks, one of the elementary schools was shut down due to infection rates, and word is that the high school will shut down in the next two weeks.

I don't have a problem with this since I can work from home without any problems. (I've enjoyed being back in the office since August 9th, but I can be just as productive from home.) But I do have to wonder how many of the people who forced this decision are going to be complaining next about the schools being closed and the impact on their ability to make a living.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by Drake

I do have to wonder how many of the people who forced this decision are going to be complaining next about the schools being closed and the impact on their ability to make a living.

Bingo!

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Drake

Members of my community just social-media bullied our director of the county Health Department into lifting the mask mandate for schools. Within two weeks, one of the elementary schools was shut down due to infection rates, and word is that the high school will shut down in the next two weeks.

I don't have a problem with this since I can work from home without any problems. (I've enjoyed being back in the office since August 9th, but I can be just as productive from home.) But I do have to wonder how many of the people who forced this decision are going to be complaining next about the schools being closed and the impact on their ability to make a living.

I have had this conversation with a friend who is anti masks in school. I tried to explain to him what the end result will likely be and he just doesn't want to listen and keeps deflecting. The bottom line is people just need to be angry about something.

[sterlingice]

It is just like adrenaline addiction or something?

SI

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

It is just like adrenaline addiction or something?

SI

I really think it is a misplaced feeling of futility. People feel like they have no power, so bullying school boards and such makes them feel more in control.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

It is just like adrenaline addiction or something?

SI

I have read a couple headlines (I can't be bothered to read actual article content!) about the dopamine release that comes from being outraged, which can become addictive.

[Brian Swartz]

I'd be interesting in reading those if you have a link. What happens to me after I've gotten outraged is the opposite of a dopamine high in other contexts. I feel absolutely horrible.

[thesloppy]

I went digging through Google and there were actually a lot of similar results, even though none of them seemed particularly familiar or recent. I read a handful and this article seems to be a decent summary. :

Moral outrage overload? How social media may be changing our brains | Hub

[Atocep]

I don't know which thread this belongs in, but it's definitely WTF worthy.

School District Says Students Can 'Become Spoiled' With Free Lunch

[JPhillips]

The best thing about my daughter's district is that they feed everyone. No stigma, no ridiculous lunch debts, and every kid is able to learn. They even carry it over to the summer.

[lungs]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I don't know which thread this belongs in, but it's definitely WTF worthy.

School District Says Students Can 'Become Spoiled' With Free Lunch

It's Waukesha. Least surprising move ever. I expect them to next publish photos of all recipients of the free/reduced lunch program so all the Chads and Karens that live there can poke fun of their poor neighbors.

[Edward64]

I'm okay with free breakfast, lunch and dinner for all school kids if they need it. Go ahead and up my local taxes.

[21C]

Originally Posted by lungs

It's Waukesha. Least surprising move ever. I expect them to next publish photos of all recipients of the free/reduced lunch program so all the Chads and Karens that live there can poke fun of their poor neighbors.

My favorite name combination I saw was "Karens and Darrens".

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The best thing about my daughter's district is that they feed everyone. No stigma, no ridiculous lunch debts, and every kid is able to learn. They even carry it over to the summer.

Ours is like that also, we got a grant the last year. Every kid was sent home with a bagged lunch. The best part was a local foodbank would collect anything you didn't want that they could use. We would take turns every friday collecting stuff.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm okay with free breakfast, lunch and dinner for all school kids if they need it. Go ahead and up my local taxes.

I really can't understand anyone being against it, but there would be. Oh, the weeping and gnashing of teeth if they did it here.

[sterlingice]

The complete lack of empathy - I swear we live in a society that's gradually becoming sociopathic and without empathy.

SI

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I don't know which thread this belongs in, but it's definitely WTF worthy.

School District Says Students Can 'Become Spoiled' With Free Lunch

Paul Ryan just orgasmed.

[cuervo72]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/educa...al-quarantine/

Liberty University pivots to virtual classes amid coronavirus outbreak

"Liberty University switched abruptly to virtual classes beginning Monday — just a week after they began — because of a spike in coronavirus cases.

The decision to temporarily pause indoor events, teach online and ramp up other safety measures was not taken lightly, according to a university announcement Friday. “The campus infection rate is higher than at anytime last year, our only local hospital is reaching capacity for ICU COVID treatment, and we project our Annex quarantine capacity to be reached soon,” school officials wrote.

On Aug. 15, the campus reported just three positive cases, according to the school’s online dashboard. By Aug. 24, that number among students had spiked to 124. There are an additional 35 cases among the faculty and staff.

Nearly 500 people had been asked to quarantine. The dashboard, last updated Wednesday, reported 274 students on the Lynchburg, Va., campus in quarantine and an additional 111 commuter students and 107 employees in quarantine."

Well, this is very surprising news.

[Flasch186]

Shocking considering the bent of most of the family’s who’s children attend there

Most, not all

Statistics aren’t tricky when they’re not filled with BS


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[Lathum]

Just put my sixth grader on the bus for the first day of school, where masks are required. Maybe 1 other kid had one on. We are so screwed.

[albionmoonlight]

My 8th grader’s school called today. He was a close contact. But they all mask, so hopefully nothing spreads. We had to send the school proof of his vaccination. And they said that was all we needed to do. Not sure what the protocol is for unvaxxed close contacts.

[Ben E Lou]

Our daughter has what seems to be a moderate cold. She definitely doesn't feel 100%, but pre-COVID she probably would have gone to school. (She expressed that she wanted to go today so she wouldn't get behind on anything.) Some of her symptoms, though, are also associated with COVID, so we're trying to "do the right thing" and keep her at home and have her tested before she goes back. Well, guess what? No rapid tests are available that we can find anywhere near here, so as of right now, our options are:

1. Tell the truth on the screening questions that she's waiting for test results, which means she's home a minimum of Mon-Wed waiting for test results, and more likely won't be able to go back until Friday.
2. Lie on the screening questions so she can go back to school.
3. Don't get her tested so she can go back to school.

We're doing option 1, but it's not difficult to see how options 2 and 3 are happening often. I've been saying it since like April of 2020, but I'll say it again: widespread, accurate, rapid testing is *critical* in getting this thing under control. Otherwise, we're asking/expecting too much of parents nationwide.

[henry296]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Our daughter has what seems to be a moderate cold. She definitely doesn't feel 100%, but pre-COVID she probably would have gone to school. (She expressed that she wanted to go today so she wouldn't get behind on anything.) Some of her symptoms, though, are also associated with COVID, so we're trying to "do the right thing" and keep her at home and have her tested before she goes back. Well, guess what? No rapid tests are available that we can find anywhere near here, so as of right now, our options are:

1. Tell the truth on the screening questions that she's waiting for test results, which means she's home a minimum of Mon-Wed waiting for test results, and more likely won't be able to go back until Friday.
2. Lie on the screening questions so she can go back to school.
3. Don't get her tested so she can go back to school.

We're doing option 1, but it's not difficult to see how options 2 and 3 are happening often. I've been saying it since like April of 2020, but I'll say it again: widespread, accurate, rapid testing is *critical* in getting this thing under control. Otherwise, we're asking/expecting too much of parents nationwide.

My wife made a good point about testing supplies. The problem only gets worse with the proposal to test all unvaccinated large companies workers each week. Who is responsible for getting those supplies and administering the tests?

[JPhillips]

I read that in the UK you can request a test kit and you'll be mailed 7 rapid tests with no cost. It's a big failure that we don't have access to rapid testing at home.

[Ksyrup]

Yep, when this happened with my daughter a few weeks ago, all she could do is go to a CVS and buy a rapid test and hope that it was accurate. She ended up negative, as did the teacher she was working with and that teacher's kid (who was also sick at the time). The kid ended up having hand, foot and mouth disease, of all things!

[Ksyrup]

The other complication is the change in seasons that is approaching. The last 7-10 days has been gorgeous here and I've turned the AC off as much as possible and opened windows. Right away, daughter starts sneezing, my voice got a little raspy for a day or two, etc.

A year ago school was virtual so it wasn't a huge deal, but now you have these little things that pop up and you don't know whether to ignore them as allergies/change of season or default take them serious enough to stay home from everything and get checked before you go back to school/work.

[Ben E Lou]

Yeah, we were outside a ton more this weekend. It seems like in this particular case it's not allergies, but I'm sure there are others for whom that is the case. As I posted a few weeks ago, a friend/neighbor of ours got COVID and (fairly, in my estimation,) thought it was allergies, because she'd tested negative 2 weeks earlier, had been outside for 2+ hours 3-4 consecutive evenings, and is vaccinated. RELATED SIDE NOTE: I don't know if vaccinated peeps are confirmed to be less contagious, but in their case, they quarantined at home as a family, and neither her husband (vaccinated) nor their two kids (unvaccinated, ages 12 and 10) got it from her.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

1. Tell the truth on the screening questions that she's waiting for test results, which means she's home a minimum of Mon-Wed waiting for test results, and more likely won't be able to go back until Friday.
2. Lie on the screening questions so she can go back to school.
3. Don't get her tested so she can go back to school.

Just got back from the Pediatrician. We were surprised that she put option 3 right smack-dab on the table, making no bones about it: "If I test her and she feels fine tomorrow, she can't go back to school while awaiting test results. Do you still want me to do the test?" My wife asked if they'd had any recent positive cases that presented with no-fever/allergy/bad-cold-like symptoms like my daughter, and she responded affirmatively, so we went ahead with the test.

[Castlerock]

So our (NC) county school board just voted to stop all contact tracing in schools. Any teacher or student who was told to quarantine is expected to be in school effective immediately. Our county also does not require masks.

I assumed that most schools are informing close contacts (unvaccinated, unmasked) to quarantine. Is that the case?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

So our (NC) county school board just voted to stop all contact tracing in schools. Any teacher or student who was told to quarantine is expected to be in school effective immediately. Our county also does not require masks.

I assumed that most schools are informing close contacts (unvaccinated, unmasked) to quarantine. Is that the case?

Which county?

[Castlerock]

Union

[tarcone]

Our district is playing fast and loose with the reporting to people. They started out not telling us but then got some complaints and now report. Our Board presidents, who led the vote to make masks optional (green status), son is quarantined right now. The son is a student in our school.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

Union

For all of the sense of poor and rural counties as the GOP base, there's a lot more folks in those rich exurban counties that really drive the train.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

So our (NC) county school board just voted to stop all contact tracing in schools. Any teacher or student who was told to quarantine is expected to be in school effective immediately. Our county also does not require masks.

I assumed that most schools are informing close contacts (unvaccinated, unmasked) to quarantine. Is that the case?

Holy shit. That's either a mea culpa or full Trump.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Castlerock

Union

Oh snap.


NC school district faces ‘legal action’ if COVID-19 rules not followed by this Friday, NCDHHS says | myfox8.com

[Lathum]

It’s really weird. Every one of these stories about school districts refusing mask mandates the district is exponentially higher with regards to positive cases. It’s almost as if there is a correlation

[tarcone]

We had an emergency staff meeting at 6:45 this morning. We thought we were shutting down for 2 weeks because of all the quarantines. No, we have a FB protest where parents are sending their kids to our school without masks (We are in yellow which means you have to mask in school).
Standard stay off social media, dnt say anything that improves their lawsuit.

Cue to tonight. Our district has a special biard meeting and eliminates masks. No matter how many cases we have, masks cannot be mandated.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by tarcone

We had an emergency staff meeting at 6:45 this morning. We thought we were shutting down for 2 weeks because of all the quarantines. No, we have a FB protest where parents are sending their kids to our school without masks (We are in yellow which means you have to mask in school).
Standard stay off social media, dnt say anything that improves their lawsuit.

Cue to tonight. Our district has a special biard meeting and eliminates masks. No matter how many cases we have, masks cannot be mandated.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Yeah same thing happened in my school district. They had a mask mandate and they basically voted out all those school board members and put in new board members who voted unanimously to remove all masking.

[Qwikshot]

So forgive my confusion to all of this:

My kids are now vaccinated, my wife and I are vaccinated (my wife already got the booster), my parents are vaccinated (and booster I believe)

Are the large majority of cases now for COVID, since I'm reading that there is a shortage of beds again with the winter surge, still unvaccinated people?

Because I am aware of breakthrough cases but they themselves don't seem to require hospitalization.

So why are wearing masks and trying to follow these guidelines for unvaccinated (and this is not against those who cannot vaccinate but those unwilling to)?

At this point, I'm no longer sympathetic to those unwiring to vaccinate, let them eat horse medicine.

[Castlerock]

Union County NC is at it again. Union County lobbies to end quarantines

The resolution doesn't actually do anything but they are asking to end all contact tracing and quarantines.

Both county commissioners and school board members also said additional tools, like vaccinations, are now available to help keep COVID-19 infection rates low.

But here's the thing... all you need to do to avoid being quarantined is to EITHER a) get vaccinated OR b) wear a mask.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah same thing happened in my school district. They had a mask mandate and they basically voted out all those school board members and put in new board members who voted unanimously to remove all masking.

We really are just too stupid and petulant to live, aren't we?

SI

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

So forgive my confusion to all of this:

My kids are now vaccinated, my wife and I are vaccinated (my wife already got the booster), my parents are vaccinated (and booster I believe)

Are the large majority of cases now for COVID, since I'm reading that there is a shortage of beds again with the winter surge, still unvaccinated people?

Because I am aware of breakthrough cases but they themselves don't seem to require hospitalization.

So why are wearing masks and trying to follow these guidelines for unvaccinated (and this is not against those who cannot vaccinate but those unwilling to)?

At this point, I'm no longer sympathetic to those unwiring to vaccinate, let them eat horse medicine.

Wife and I were discussing this earlier this morning. At this point who are we protecting? Taking immunocompromised people out of the equation, non vaccinated people are making a choice not to get the shot. At what point do we get back to "normal" and say they have to live with the consequences of their choice? We were discussing it through the lense of school. When do we hit the point where we treat covid like any other school ailment? You have it, you miss school, you come back when you are better. Same as strep, the flu, etc...and if you are vaccinated and a close contact no worries, life as normal.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah same thing happened in my school district. They had a mask mandate and they basically voted out all those school board members and put in new board members who voted unanimously to remove all masking.

They tried that here and it didn't work. This is a frightening trend, because at least here, they weren't stopping with masks. It will be CRT, trans kids, etc...People who have zero business in education will be running school boards, because the people with a brain decided the death threats, etc...aren't worth it.

[flere-imsaho]

IMO, there are still two pieces that need to fall into place before we can truly go back to normal (and I would love nothing more than to go back to normal):

1. Although vaccinations cut the chance you can get COVID significantly, and the chance you suffer severe symptoms even more significantly, there's still not quite enough research done to confirm that the threat of truly adverse results for breakthrough cases is basically nil. Added to this is the complication of other variants, which could bypass vaccinations. I feel, however, that we're probably close to a critical mass on research. In addition, on the variant side I think we'll probably settle into twice-yearly boosters to pick up on the variants, at least for 5-10 years until COVID essentially becomes background like the flu.

2. Merck's COVID "cure" pill was a bit of a dud, from an efficacy standpoint (though there are serious benefits to the health system of 30% efficacy), but Pfizer's "cure" pill's data is still showing 90%+ efficacy. If that holds, it's a real gamechanger, especially combined with vaccinations.


Of course, this could all go a LOT quicker if as many people as possible got vaccinated, but apparently this is not the world in which we live.

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Wife and I were discussing this earlier this morning. At this point who are we protecting? Taking immunocompromised people out of the equation, non vaccinated people are making a choice not to get the shot. At what point do we get back to "normal" and say they have to live with the consequences of their choice? We were discussing it through the lense of school. When do we hit the point where we treat covid like any other school ailment? You have it, you miss school, you come back when you are better. Same as strep, the flu, etc...and if you are vaccinated and a close contact no worries, life as normal.

I just found out in the Lehigh Valley that 80% in the hospitals here due to COVID are unvaccinated.