Reason why it's nerve-racking to go back to school in person

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not saying masks are optional. They are mandatory. That was reiterated in the communication we got from Smith over the weekend.

So they also said that masks were encouraged not mandatory so which one is it?

“I want to be clear that face coverings will be required every day and we will need your help to reinforce this message and prepare your children for this change.”

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/publicinfo/community/school-year-2019-2020/community-update-20200718.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Absolutely not, just until there's a vaccine.

What if the vaccine is as effective as the seasonal flu vaccine, and the percentage of the population that gets it is the same as the seasonal flu vaccine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you want a guarantee that nobody will get covid at school, that's not possible.

Just like it's not possible to guarantee that you won't get heart disease, and it's not possible to guarantee that you won't get in a car crash the next time you drive somewhere, and it's not possible to guarantee that you won't trip and fall when you get out of bed tomorrow morning.

Those are not accurate comparisons.

OP, I'm not going to be wondering every single day if my kids were exposed, or if they brought it into our house. I'm just not.

They're absolutely accurate. The only way to guarantee that nobody will get covid at school is to not have school. The only way to guarantee that you won't get heart disease is to not be alive. The only way to guarantee that you won't get in a car crash the next time you drive is to not drive anywhere. The only way to guarantee that you won't trip and fall when you get out of bed is to not get out of bed.

Obviously you are being ridiculous. We are parents. Most of us have given birth. We know there are risks to everything. You are being stupid, and it's opinions like yours that make more people decide NOT to send their kids back to school and NOT go back out in the world. Because you are being an ass.

[Anonymous]

It's not going to work, OP. That's the simple answer. Not in a country that has no nationwide testing and tracing capacity and no rapid testing.

To avoid back and forth and worry, we are doing distance learning. Vaccinations will last until the end of 2021, we're not anticipating the pandemic stopping anytime in 2021.

[Anonymous]

I'm a huge risk taker. I can't even tell you some of the crazier things I've done in my life. My kids are given a lot more freedom than most kids their age, and had access to knives in the kitchen, tools, walked to and from the park alone at early ages, etc.

They are not going back to school in the fall. I am not risk-averse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Absolutely not, just until there's a vaccine.

What if the vaccine is as effective as the seasonal flu vaccine, and the percentage of the population that gets it is the same as the seasonal flu vaccine?

That would actually make a significant difference in case numbers, PP. We wish for more people to be vaccinated, of course, but what you describe wouldn't be too bad.

[Anonymous]

Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you want a guarantee that nobody will get covid at school, that's not possible.

Just like it's not possible to guarantee that you won't get heart disease, and it's not possible to guarantee that you won't get in a car crash the next time you drive somewhere, and it's not possible to guarantee that you won't trip and fall when you get out of bed tomorrow morning.

This exactly.

OP, anything can happen. We should expect MCPS to take reasonable precautions - social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer. And then move along.

Yet she is probably at Target shopping right now. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

This really is not that hard. Nurse contacts family. Kids aren’t allowed back without explanation/note/temp and assessment from nurse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Absolutely not, just until there's a vaccine.

What if the vaccine is as effective as the seasonal flu vaccine, and the percentage of the population that gets it is the same as the seasonal flu vaccine?

That would actually make a significant difference in case numbers, PP. We wish for more people to be vaccinated, of course, but what you describe wouldn't be too bad.

PP you're responding to, and I agree that a vaccine like that would be a big improvement. Of course, I also get the flu vaccine every year.

But if you're insisting on zero risk of covid, you're not going to get it from that kind of vaccine/vaccine participation rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

This really is not that hard. Nurse contacts family. Kids aren’t allowed back without explanation/note/temp and assessment from nurse.

And if a student tests positive, will the teacher have to quarantine also? With less then 10 days of sick leave, the leave could potentially be gone for the year with ONE quarantine. What’s the likelihood of this happening? I would say pretty high odds. Then what happens when another student tests positive and the teacher has no leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand that children are less likely to spread the virus and less likely to die from the virus but you still have the outbreak situations where lots of people are getting sick.

What assurances do we have from Montgomery County public schools that this won't happen if we go back to school? What can we learn from this? especially given that Montgomery County is saying that mass wearing for children would be optional and encouraged And there was no assurances that there would be more money set aside for cleaning supplies or improving the HVAC systems?

https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/covid-19-cases-end-johns-creek-summer-camp/XAX7DVNW5VAZ3P5YRQY7V7E564/


https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/07/christian-summer-camp-kanakuk-82-cases-covid-19.amp

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/health/texas-coronavirus-cases-child-care-facilities/index.html

Maybe you would find it less nerve-wracking if they also told you how many of those positive cases resulted in serious negative consequences?

The last two links talk about positive cases, but that doesn’t tell you much. People can test positive and have zero symptoms. People can test positive and end up in the hospital. It’s not helpful to learn how many positive cases there are without knowing how many of those ended up seriously ill.

Nobody knows if there are long term consequences. This is a novel virus.

Should we keep schools closed for the next 5 years, or 20 years, until we've determined whether or not there are long-term consequences?

Absolutely not, just until there's a vaccine.

There may never be an adequate vaccine, or it may take 2+ years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

This really is not that hard. Nurse contacts family. Kids aren’t allowed back without explanation/note/temp and assessment from nurse.

And if a student tests positive, will the teacher have to quarantine also? With less then 10 days of sick leave, the leave could potentially be gone for the year with ONE quarantine. What’s the likelihood of this happening? I would say pretty high odds. Then what happens when another student tests positive and the teacher has no leave?

Also not hard to solve: the school district grants covid leave, as other employers have done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

This really is not that hard. Nurse contacts family. Kids aren’t allowed back without explanation/note/temp and assessment from nurse.

And if a student tests positive, will the teacher have to quarantine also? With less then 10 days of sick leave, the leave could potentially be gone for the year with ONE quarantine. What’s the likelihood of this happening? I would say pretty high odds. Then what happens when another student tests positive and the teacher has no leave?

Also not hard to solve: the school district grants covid leave, as other employers have done.

I believe MCPS said there would be no such type of leave. Staff will have to use sick leave they have accrued.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s an honest question:
Does anyone know what the plan is when a kid reports symptoms consistent with COViD? Or when a kid just doesn’t show up for school?
The CDC guidance for workplaces states that anyone who was within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes should be notified and asked to quanrantine. They’re vague on when you need to do that if you had prolonged exposure (eg 6 hours) in an enclosed room, but a lot of employers are making the choice to notify and send home any employees who worked in the same area.
What is MCPS’s plan? Will they have workers calling home for any kid that doesnt show up to ask about symptoms? Which families will they notify? Will they close down classrooms, bus routes, whole schools?
I don’t know the riight answer but this is all pretty relevant to my deciiskon about whether I’d be comfortable sending my kids.

This really is not that hard. Nurse contacts family. Kids aren’t allowed back without explanation/note/temp and assessment from nurse.

And if a student tests positive, will the teacher have to quarantine also? With less then 10 days of sick leave, the leave could potentially be gone for the year with ONE quarantine. What’s the likelihood of this happening? I would say pretty high odds. Then what happens when another student tests positive and the teacher has no leave?

Also not hard to solve: the school district grants covid leave, as other employers have done.

And when the schools are unable to afford all the extra leave and/or can't find subs?

Look, I really would love for schools to reopen. I'd especially love for that to happen, because the only way I can figure out to manage the logistics of reopening is to get the case count down significantly. We seem to be the only western country unable to manage this, which is frankly shocking.